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China will accelerate the construction of a new energy system to support the development of artificial intelligence with green electricity, the National Energy Administration said at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference on July 17. The country's computing facility electricity consumption reached 170 TWh in 2025, up 30% year on year, and is expected to account for 6% of total electricity consumption by 2030. By the end of June, China's cumulative installed power capacity exceeded 4,000 GW, with renewable energy accounting for more than 2,400 GW.

Eurozone annual inflation eased to 2.8% in June from 3.2% in May, matching the preliminary estimate, while EU inflation fell to 2.9% from 3.3%, Eurostat confirmed in its final report on July 17. Services prices contributed 1.51 percentage points to the annual rate, while energy added 0.77 percentage points, with core inflation excluding energy and unprocessed food at 2.1%. Romania recorded the highest annual rate at 9.2%, while Sweden posted the lowest at 1.0%.

US industrial production rose 0.1% in June from May and increased 1.1% from a year earlier, the Federal Reserve Board said on July 17. Manufacturing was unchanged month on month but gained 1.1% year on year, while utilities climbed 0.4% monthly and 3% annually, and mining output rose 0.4% from May and 2.4% from a year ago. Capacity utilization held steady at 76.1%, 3.3 percentage points below its long-run average.

Shanxi's emergency management and other five provincial departments have jointly issued detailed rules for rewarding whistleblowers who report major mine safety hazards and violations, effective July 17, offering rewards calculated at 15% of the administrative penalty imposed, with a minimum of 3,000 yuan and a maximum of 500,000 yuan, the Shanxi Emergency Management Department said. For concealed or falsely reported accidents, rewards are based on the severity and number of unreported deaths, also capped at 500,000 yuan. The rules apply across the province and follow the principles of "legal reporting, territorial management, and graded responsibility", with whistleblowers required to claim their reward within 60 days.

The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) has launched the "ONE REGION, ONE GOAL" initiative to accelerate carbon market integration and development across the Asia-Pacific region. The initiative covers multiple key directions, including supporting the expansion of China's national carbon market to cover cement, aluminum and steel sectors, promoting reform and allowance tightening in South Korea's K-ETS, helping Japan's new national ETS go live in 2026, advancing India's Article 6 carbon credit international cooperation framework, and expanding the use of international carbon credits under Singapore's carbon tax. IETA said the Asia-Pacific region is becoming a core engine for global carbon market growth.

Soaring Tokyo temperatures boosted power demand, while shipping snags in the Strait of Hormuz pushed fuel costs higher. Japan Electric Power Exchange data shows national day-ahead spot power hit 20.13 yen per kWh ($0.12/kWh) on Jul 14, surging 64% WoW to the highest level since early Jun.

Tang Dengjie, party secretary of Shanxi, visited Xixian, Daning and Pu counties in Linfen city on July 14-15 to inspect energy transition, flood control and coal mine safety, according to Linfen Daily. He urged coordinated efforts to stabilize growth, adjust structure, promote transformation, improve livelihoods, prevent risks and ensure safety, emphasizing high-level security to support high-quality development.

Hebei power grid's peak load reached 55.76 GW during the summer peak season, setting a new historical high, as persistent hot and humid weather drove electricity demand higher.

Peabody Energy faces multiple securities fraud lawsuits after its Centurion coal mine repeatedly missed targets, multiple media outlets reported. The company cut its first-quarter output estimate by 64% in March and slashed its full-year sales forecast by 28% in May. Shares plunged 36.7%, and investors allege executives hid electrical, mechanical and geological problems.

Coke futures for September delivery on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) rose 0.13% to settle at midday on Jul 17, while coking coal futures gained 0.32% and iron ore futures climbed 0.73%.

China's central bank set the yuan midpoint at 6.7934 per dollar on Jul 17, weakening by 25 basis points from the previous fix of 6.7909. Both onshore and offshore yuan edged lower against the greenback in the prior session.