EM ASIA CREDIT: JD.com: Sales volumes surge
(JD, A3/A-pos/NR)
"*JD.COM REPORTS SURGE IN SINGLES' DAY ORDERS, OVERSEAS SALES" - BBG
Single's Day volumes surge, positive read
JD.com reported on its WeChat account that its online Singles’ Day shopping campaign yesterday, one of the largest shopping events of the year, especially in China and Asia, generated a 60% increase in year-on-year order volumes. No details regarding revenues were disclosed, nevertheless this is a positive indicator of rising traffic across its online platforms.
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LNG: Gas Lower As Supplies Steady, Watching Heating Outlook
European natural gas fell 1.4% to EUR 31.905 on Friday after a high of EUR 32.363 at the start of the session. Prices are up 1.6% this month and with storage 83% full and flows into inventories continuing the market is content to monitor the situation and the outlook for heating demand. However, at the same time last year, levels were around 92%.
- Europe is benefiting from China’s purchases of Russian gas leaving it to buy from other suppliers.
- US gas prices fell 4.2% to $3.133 on Friday to be down 5.6% in October. Mild weather and a larger-than-expected storage injection have pressured prices since Wednesday. Heading towards winter, the market will continue to focus on weather forecasts and supply developments.
- Lower-48 US gas production rose 5% y/y while demand fell 6.7% y/y. Flows to LNG export facilities rose 1.6% w/w on Friday, according to BNEF data.
CHINA: Viewpoint On Rare Earth Controls, Where Trade De-escalation May Come From
US-China trade tensions have come back into focus, as Trump threatened a 100% tariff on China by Nov 1 late on Friday. Focus is what steps may come next from the China side, with US comments over the weekend and today suggesting some softer rhetoric. Interestingly, Arnaud Bertrand wrote a thread on X expanding on an explanation he had heard given by a Chinese analyst about the timing of these new export controls on rare earth materials. Below are some key excerpts. A key takeaway is that if China is comfortable with its reduced dependency on the US, it may mean de-escalation has to come from the US side rather than China.
- “Why did China wait until now to use rare earths as leverage against the US? Why not in the first Trump administration when the US started the trade hostilities? Or when the Biden administration unleashed the chips export controls 3 years ago?”
- “A Chinese analyst unexpectedly says a big part of the explanation is... helium. Source https://t.co/eUbbU5QIHW “ “All the way until 2022 China imported 95% of its helium and most of it was controlled by the US.
- “In a nutshell what he's explaining is that with helium the US had an even stronger card to play if China ever used the rare earths card.”
- This raised huge alarm bells inside China.(https://t.co/eZhyv438LK).
- “By the end of 2024 China had cut its helium dependence on the US to less than 5% (https://t.co/wOxm8VRZJj).“China is the first country that systematically worked to eliminate every single pressure point, with humongous efforts. It's not just helium: it's chips, energy, telecommunication, pharmaceuticals, etc.“
- China also noted over the weekend that its rare earth export controls were not a ban or prohibition.
