Real-time News

Futures News, April 16th: Enterprise Singapore (ESG) reported that Singapore's light distillate fuel inventories rose by 1.495 million barrels to a three-week high of 18.002 million barrels in the week ending April 15th.

Futures News, April 16th: Enterprise Singapore (ESG) reported that as of the week ending April 15th, Singapore's middle distillate fuel inventories rose by 1.434 million barrels, reaching a 25-week high of 10.272 million barrels.

Italy's final harmonized CPI annual rate for March was 1.6%, below the expected 1.5% and the previous reading of 1.50%.

April 16th - According to foreign media reports, EU officials stated that the EU is drafting a plan to address the impending shortage of aviation fuel and maximize refinery output. European airlines have warned of potential aviation fuel shortages within weeks due to the conflict with Iran, disrupting pre-summer flight schedules. Europe is more dependent on aviation fuel imports than other transport fuels, with approximately 75% coming from the Middle East. A draft indicates that starting next month, the European Commission will release a map covering the entire EU's petroleum product refining capacity and take measures to "ensure that existing refining capacity is fully utilized and maintained." Officials familiar with the proposals stated that the EU is also developing measures for aviation fuel supply, but these measures are still being refined.

On April 16, the Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference. Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong stated that in recent years, China-Spain economic and trade relations have developed steadily and yielded fruitful results. Bilateral trade is projected to exceed US$55 billion by 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of nearly 10%. The trade structure is continuously optimizing, with a sustained increase in the proportion of high-tech and high-value-added products. Two-way investment stock is nearly US$11 billion, and cooperation in production and supply chains is deepening, fully demonstrating the complementarity and resilience of the two economies. Going forward, the Ministry of Commerce will work with Spain to implement the important economic and trade consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen dialogue on economic and trade policies, leverage the role of economic and trade mechanisms and business exchange platforms, and promote deeper and more practical cooperation between China and Spain.

Mohsen Rezaei, military advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader: Iranian missile launchers are ready to sink all US warships.

Gold prices held steady above $4,800 per ounce on April 16, supported by optimism surrounding US-Iran negotiations and a pullback in oil prices. An analyst from ING stated, "While gold fell sharply due to selling pressures caused by liquidity constraints, it has partially recovered as growth concerns resurfaced and price volatility has subsided. Rising real interest rates, a stronger dollar, and profit-taking may put pressure on short-term movements, but the recent pullback suggests that underlying demand remains strong."

April 16th - According to information disclosed by the US on the 15th, due to the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Iran depleting US military weapon stockpiles, the Trump administration is in contact with automakers and other manufacturers, intending to have them increase weapons production. Sources indicate that senior US defense officials have discussed increasing arms production with executives from several companies, including General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Ford CEO Jim Farley. In addition, General Electric-Aerospace and Oshkosh Corporation, headquartered in Wisconsin, also participated in talks with US defense officials. The report states that the US Department of Defense intends to recruit these companies, utilizing their personnel and factory capacity to increase the production of ammunition and other equipment.

April 16 - At 4 PM local time on the 16th, Unit 6 of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), resumed commercial operation. This marks the restart of commercial service for the unit after approximately 14 years. TEPCO originally planned to start commercial operation on February 26th, but the restart was delayed by about seven weeks due to a series of malfunctions and other reasons. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, located in Niigata Prefecture, is Japan's largest nuclear power plant.

British Foreign Secretary Cooper: Any suggestion to impose a security toll in the Strait of Hormuz undermines our global economic security.

The yield on UK two-year government bonds fell 5 basis points to 4.184% in early trading.

Swiss National Bank: Therefore, the medium-term inflation forecast is very close to that of the previous quarter.

The Swiss National Bank: In the medium term, the appreciation of the Swiss franc will reduce inflationary pressures and offset the potential second-round impact of rising energy prices.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) stated that its Governing Council discussed a conditional inflation forecast that assumes the SNB's policy rate will remain unchanged at 0%.

On April 16th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released its first batch of science and technology business incubators, including 402 standard-level incubators and 14 excellent-level incubators. The 402 standard-level incubators cover multiple emerging industries such as biomedicine, artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, and new materials, offering comprehensive incubation services. They meet requirements across multiple dimensions, including incubator qualifications, incubation space, operating teams, and incubated companies, providing full-cycle, professional incubation services for startups. The 14 excellent-level incubators possess distinct characteristics and significant advantages in incubating university research achievements, cutting-edge technologies, investment, and industry, providing a leading and exemplary role for the development of incubators nationwide.

The Swiss National Bank: Swiss manufacturing is becoming less dependent on energy prices.

The Swiss National Bank: The Middle East war could more severely dampen economic activity and increase upward pressure on the Swiss franc.

On April 16th, at a regular press conference held by the Ministry of Commerce this afternoon, spokesperson He Yadong introduced that by 2025, 14,000 new foreign-invested enterprises will be established in my country's scientific research and technical services sector, representing a year-on-year increase of 27.2%. Going forward, the Ministry of Commerce will work with relevant departments to attract more multinational corporations to locate their R&D activities in China, leveraging the country's comprehensive industrial system, high-caliber talent pool, and abundant application scenarios to fully demonstrate their advantages and capabilities in my country's green, digital, and intelligent transformation, and share development opportunities.

Swiss National Bank: Currently, there are only signs of a slight decline in market sentiment.