Real-time News

July 20th, Futures Market News: Zhengzhou rapeseed meal futures opened lower but then fluctuated upwards. Canadian canola futures continued to rise, with the benchmark contract closing 2.2% higher, mainly reflecting the surge in international crude oil futures and significant increases in Chicago soybean oil and European canola futures. Rapeseed meal spot prices rose slightly. Soybean meal's strong substitution advantage is squeezing demand for rapeseed meal. Currently, rapeseed meal demand is mainly driven by immediate needs, while supply is increasing, leading to continued market volatility and adjustment.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reports a 5.5-magnitude earthquake in western Iran.

July 20th - On July 19th, the total crude oil production of the Bayan Oilfield in Bayannur, Inner Mongolia, exceeded 6 million tons. This marks the second time in just seven months that it has surpassed the 5 million ton mark, following its achievement in December 2025. In the first half of the year, the oilfield produced over 870,000 tons of crude oil, completing 51% of its annual plan. Daily production remained stable at 4,800 tons, a year-on-year increase of 20%, contributing nearly one-third of the daily output of the North China Oilfield.

On July 20th, in an interview published by Iranian media on July 19th, Iranian Foreign Minister Araqchi revealed that during indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States before the Israeli military attack on Iran last June, the US attempted to "buy Iran" by making numerous promises, but he rejected them on the spot. Araqchi said he stated immediately that Iran would not sell its enriched uranium because it was obtained through 20 years of sanctions endured by the Iranian people and the sacrifices of Iranian scientists. He emphasized that the United States could neither threaten nor buy Iran.

July 20th - Hedge funds' short positions in the New Zealand dollar have reached a record high, as they believe the recent rebound in global oil prices could exacerbate economic pressures in New Zealand. Data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) shows that in the week ending July 14th, leveraged funds increased their net short positions in the New Zealand dollar by 1,907 contracts to 29,582 contracts, the highest level since 2006. This bearish stance contrasts with the recent rebound in the New Zealand dollar, which was primarily driven by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's hawkish policies. Furthermore, investor concerns about New Zealand's energy-importing economy are also reflected in the short bets, as escalating tensions between the US and Iran have caused oil prices to break through $90 per barrel again. The oil price shock could further worsen the country's trade balance; last month, the country barely avoided a trade deficit, while domestic consumer spending declined.

Wesfarmers Australia: Founders an artificial intelligence partnership with Microsoft (MSFT.O).

Shanghai Auntie (02589.HK) once surged by more than 50% during the session, but the gains have now fallen back to 29%.

On July 20th, Wang Weiming, Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), stated that since the beginning of this year, the MIIT has focused on facilitating the industrialization of research results and the incubation chain for technology-based enterprises, taking the cultivation and expansion of the science and technology service industry as a key focus, and has carried out work in three key areas. First, strengthening the incubation rate, establishing a full-chain service capability from R&D to pilot testing and then to incubation; second, building a sound trading market, as many high-quality research results, despite their strong technical foundation, are limited by regional and channel constraints, making it difficult to connect with the national market—even the best products need marketing. Currently, we are accelerating the formulation of policy documents to cultivate a nationally integrated technology market, striving to break down regional barriers and institutional obstacles in the technology transaction process, building a unified national technology transaction service platform, and promoting the free flow of technological elements nationwide; third, facilitating the transformation of supply and demand for research results. "We cannot look for nails with a hammer," we must adhere to the principle of industry posing the questions and science and technology providing the answers, giving full play to the role of technology managers, and facilitating the smooth flow of research output, intermediary matchmaking, and application implementation. Currently, the MIIT is accelerating the formulation of reform measures to strengthen the construction of the technology manager team, and relevant policies and standards will be released soon.

On July 20th, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce the development of industry and information technology in the first half of 2026. Tao Qing, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Director of the Bureau of Operation Monitoring and Coordination, stated that software is the soul of the new generation of information technology, an important foundation for the development of the digital economy, and a key support for building a manufacturing powerhouse, a cyber powerhouse, and a digital China. Going forward, in accordance with the national software development strategy, we will continue to enhance the supply capacity of key software products and services, accelerate the introduction of the "Artificial Intelligence + Software" action plan, promote the intelligent transformation of software development, the intelligent upgrading of software products and services, and the cultivation of new intelligent agent software business models. We will also continuously improve the capabilities of open-source infrastructure in project incubation, supply chain security governance, exploration of emerging scenarios, and overseas market implementation, and accelerate the growth of the national-level artificial intelligence open-source community into an innovation source for emerging technologies and an important scenario for the implementation of software and hardware products.

On July 20, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce the development of industry and information technology in the first half of 2026. Xie Cun, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and Director of the Information and Communications Development Department, stated that the MIIT will strengthen the regulation and governance of the basic telecommunications market, enhance tariff management and marketing channel control, effectively curb irrational competition in the basic telecommunications market, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of users. "If you find that a telecommunications company has problems with irregular operations or inadequate service, you can first file a complaint with the company. If you are not satisfied with the handling of your complaint, you can also appeal to the MIIT," Xie Cun said. The MIIT will guide and urge companies to handle these issues properly. At the same time, it will further strengthen service tracking and monitoring, and if violations are found, it will take measures such as interviews, public notices, and orders for rectification, and impose administrative penalties to deal with them according to law.

July 20th - According to data released by the Jiangxi Provincial Bureau of Statistics on July 20th, based on the unified accounting results for regional GDP, the province's GDP in the first half of the year reached 1,803.79 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.0% at constant prices. Specifically, the added value of the primary industry was 80.68 billion yuan, an increase of 3.6%; the added value of the secondary industry was 738.91 billion yuan, an increase of 2.3%; and the added value of the tertiary industry was 984.2 billion yuan, an increase of 5.1%.

On July 20th, Tao Qing, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Director of the Bureau of Operation Monitoring and Coordination, stated that the Ministry will accelerate the implementation of the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry," focusing its efforts on building "innovative medicine," "digital medicine," "inclusive medicine," and "open medicine," accelerating progress in the new field of biomedicine. The Ministry will continue to strengthen research on original technologies and key core technologies, leveraging artificial intelligence to comprehensively empower industrial development. It will also strengthen drug security for key groups such as the elderly, children, and patients with rare diseases, striving to ensure that every patient can access, afford, and effectively use medications, allowing more high-quality and innovative drugs made in China to benefit patients worldwide more quickly.

Fitch warned that Thailand's weak economy could pose a challenge to its large banks.

The China Earthquake Networks Center automatically determined that an earthquake of approximately magnitude 3.2 occurred near Shizong County, Qujing City, Yunnan Province at 10:27 AM on July 20th. The final result is subject to the official rapid report.

On July 20, Tao Qing, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and director of the Bureau of Operation Monitoring and Coordination, stated at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that 38 innovative drugs were approved for marketing in the first half of this year, of which 31 were domestically produced, accounting for over 80%. The licensing of innovative drug technologies to foreign entities reached a new high, with total transactions exceeding US$100 billion in the first half of the year.