Real-time News

On May 20th, the Ministry of Finance released its fiscal revenue and expenditure figures for January-April 2026. From January to April, national general public budget expenditure totaled 9,480.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.3%. Breaking it down by central and local governments, central government general public budget expenditure was 1,291 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%; local government general public budget expenditure was 8,189.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.7%.

UAE Presidential Advisor Anwar: The Iranian militia's attack on the Baraka nuclear power plant is a serious violation of international law. The threats from Hormuz to Baraka reflect a "chaotic mentality" in Iran that will jeopardize the global economy and international order.

Brent crude oil fell $2.00 on the day, currently trading at $105.53 per barrel, a drop of 1.86%.

UK government bonds continued their upward trend, with the yield on 2-year government bonds falling 10 basis points to 4.41%.

On May 20th, the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) reported the following changes in warehouse receipts for various commodities: 1. Silver futures warehouse receipts: 994,727 kg, an increase of 18,851 kg compared to the previous trading day; 2. Natural rubber futures warehouse receipts: 138,600 tons, an increase of 190 tons compared to the previous trading day; 3. Stainless steel warehouse futures warehouse receipts: 72,628 tons, an increase of 692 tons compared to the previous trading day; 4. Alumina futures warehouse receipts: 482,366 tons, a decrease of 17,141 tons compared to the previous trading day; 5. Petroleum asphalt plant warehouse futures warehouse receipts: 31,220 tons, unchanged compared to the previous trading day; 6. Petroleum asphalt warehouse futures warehouse receipts: 21,120 tons, unchanged compared to the previous trading day; 7. Gold futures warehouse receipts: 110,649 kg, unchanged compared to the previous trading day; 8. Low-sulfur fuel oil warehouse futures warehouse receipts: 1,540 tons, unchanged compared to the previous trading day; 9. International copper futures warehouse receipts totaled 13,523 tons, a decrease of 1,198 tons from the previous trading day; 10. TSR20 rubber futures warehouse receipts totaled 35,381 tons, a decrease of 202 tons from the previous trading day; 11. Butadiene rubber futures warehouse receipts totaled 33,220 tons, a decrease of 310 tons from the previous trading day; 12. Rebar warehouse receipts totaled 17,223 tons, a decrease of 75,392 tons from the previous trading day; 13. Copper futures warehouse receipts totaled 101,014 tons, a decrease of 1,236 tons from the previous trading day; 14. Medium-sulfur crude oil futures warehouse receipts totaled 3,511,000 barrels, unchanged from the previous trading day; 15. Lead futures warehouse receipts totaled 66,945 tons, a decrease of 683 tons from the previous trading day; 16. Tin futures warehouse receipts totaled 8,461 tons, a decrease of 417 tons from the previous trading day; 17. Nickel futures warehouse receipts totaled 79,267 tons, an increase of 437 tons from the previous trading day; zinc futures warehouse receipts totaled 108,423 tons, a decrease of 353 tons from the previous trading day; aluminum futures warehouse receipts totaled 480,765 tons, a decrease of 50 tons from the previous trading day; pulp warehouse futures warehouse receipts totaled 198,844 tons, a decrease of 7,101 tons from the previous trading day; pulp mill warehouse futures warehouse receipts totaled 20,000 tons, unchanged from the previous trading day; hot-rolled coil futures warehouse receipts totaled 597,542 tons, a decrease of 17,296 tons from the previous trading day; fuel oil futures warehouse receipts totaled 47,160 tons, unchanged from the previous trading day.

The onshore yuan closed at 6.8060 against the US dollar at 16:30 on May 20, down 21 points from the previous trading day.

The China Earthquake Networks Center officially reported that a magnitude 3.7 earthquake occurred at 16:23 on May 20 in Liunan District, Liuzhou City, Guangxi (24.42 degrees north latitude, 109.28 degrees east longitude), with a focal depth of 5 kilometers.

The China Earthquake Networks Center automatically determined that an earthquake of approximately magnitude 3.8 occurred at 16:23 on May 20 near Liunan District, Liuzhou City, Guangxi (24.40 degrees north latitude, 109.26 degrees east longitude). The final result is subject to the official rapid report.

The Ukrainian military has attacked an oil refinery in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region.

ECB Governing Council member Winsch: The bond sell-off has not affected the assessment of the situation in Iran.

May 20th - The UK's April CPI annual rate slowed to 2.8% from 3.3% in March, below the 3.0% consensus forecast by economists. ING analyst James Smith stated in a report that Wednesday's inflation data, coupled with weak UK employment data released this week, reduced the likelihood of a significant interest rate hike by the Bank of England. Data from the London Stock Exchange Group shows that investors expect a 19% probability of a Bank of England rate hike in June, down from 42% before the release of this week's UK employment and inflation data.

According to the official measurement of the China Earthquake Networks Center, a 4.3-magnitude earthquake occurred at 16:06 on May 20 in Kuqa City, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang (41.17 degrees north latitude, 83.39 degrees east longitude), with a focal depth of 20 kilometers.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 146.73 points, or 0.57%, at 25,651.12 on Wednesday, May 20; the Hang Seng Tech Index closed up 16.36 points, or 0.34%, at 4,873.82; the H-share Index closed down 34.83 points, or 0.4%, at 8,605.13; and the Red Chip Index closed down 28.01 points, or 0.62%, at 4,468.07.

The China Earthquake Networks Center automatically determined that an earthquake of approximately magnitude 4.0 occurred at 16:06 on May 20 near Kuqa City, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang (41.18 degrees north latitude, 83.40 degrees east longitude). The final result is subject to the official rapid report.

JPMorgan Chase expects the Bank of England to raise interest rates by 25 basis points in July, up from its previous forecast of a June rate hike, following weaker-than-expected UK CPI data.

May 20th - The State Post Bureau today (May 20th) released data on the operation of my country's postal industry in the first four months of this year. The data shows that the industry's delivery volume increased by 4.1% year-on-year, continuing its steady growth trend. The latest data from the State Post Bureau shows that from January to April, my country's postal industry completed a total of 70.16 billion deliveries, a year-on-year increase of 4.1%. Among them, the express delivery volume reached 64.57 billion pieces, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%.

Taiwan's export orders rose 48.1% year-on-year in April, below the expected 45% and the previous month's 65.90%.