News

U.S. natural gas futures maintained their decline, now down 2.1%, after an EIA report showed a slightly larger-than-expected decline in natural gas inventories.

U.S. EIA natural gas inventories for the week ending January 2nd were -119 billion cubic feet, compared to a forecast of -114 billion cubic feet and a previous reading of -38 billion cubic feet.

EIA natural gas inventories in the United States for the week to January 2 will be released in ten minutes.

White House Press Secretary Levitt and US Vice President Vance will hold a briefing at the White House at 1 p.m.

The U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee invited the five major health insurance companies to attend a hearing on January 22.

The U.S. Treasury Department has made administrative adjustments to the Russia-related sanctions list.

The U.S. Treasury Department updates its Russia-related sanctions list.

Minutes of the Central Bank of Mexico meeting: Some members believe that there are uncertainties in U.S. trade policy. Most members expect the Mexican labor market to cool.

Minutes of the Central Bank of Mexico meeting: Most committee members stated that tax policy adjustments and tariff changes to be implemented in 2026 are expected to have a one-time, temporary impact on inflation.

An Ellabe poll showed that French Prime Minister Le Corny's approval rating rose by 4 percentage points to 24%. French President Macron's approval rating fell 2 percentage points to 16%.

The monthly wholesale sales rate in the United States in October was -0.4%, compared with -0.20% in the previous month.

The final monthly rate of U.S. wholesale inventories in October was 0.2%, expected to be 0.20%, and the previous value was 0.5%.

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Thune: Whether oil companies can obtain exploration rights depends on the actual situation.

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Thune: Trump and Rubio's plans for Venezuela are fully reasonable.

U.S. natural gas futures fell 3.00% during the day and are currently at $3.419/million British thermal units.

U.S. stocks opened, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.3%, the S&P 500 Index down 0.05%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index down 0.12%. Defense stocks generally rose, with Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) rising 6.66% and Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N) rising 2.55%. Trump plans to increase the 2027 defense budget by 50% to $1.5 trillion. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index fell 0.37%.

Fitch: The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates twice in the first half of 2026, lowering the federal funds rate (ceiling) to 3.25%.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced that the United States will withdraw from the Green Climate Fund immediately.

UN Climate Affairs Director Steele: The business opportunities in the clean energy sector remain enormous and cannot be ignored by US investors and businesses.

UN Climate Affairs Chief Steer: This latest step backward (regarding the US withdrawal from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) deviates from global leadership, climate cooperation, and science, and will only harm the US economy, jobs, and living standards. The US still has the opportunity to rejoin in the future.