Kocher: There is currently no significant second round effect, but the risk of persistent inflation still exists

According to Bloomberg, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu visited the United States this week to inquire about the agenda and expected outcomes of the September China US Artificial Intelligence Dialogue. White House and Treasury officials have raised intellectual property and chip compliance allegations against Chinese AI companies such as Moonshot. Treasury Secretary Bessent stated that if systemic infringement is discovered, the US will use sanctions and entity list tools. The Chinese side expresses opposition to politicizing and weaponizing technology issues, and is willing to engage in discussions with the US on global governance of AI.

According to CCTV, Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports have been forced to bypass Africa due to disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict, resulting in an increase of about a month in transportation time and a doubling of transportation costs. According to data from Kepler and London Stock Exchange Group Shipping Research, the fuel cost for the detour route has increased from $1.26 million to approximately $2.87 million, with an additional $1 million in Suez Canal tolls to be paid.

The People's Bank of China will carry out overnight reverse repurchase operations from July 29th to July 31st and August 3rd, using fixed interest rates and quantity bidding. Among them, 600 billion yuan will be carried out daily from July 29th to July 31st, and 300 billion yuan will be carried out on August 3rd.

According to Citrini analyst Jukan on the X platform, AMD is close to signing a large-scale supply agreement for HBM4 with Samsung Electronics. AMD CEO Lisa Su stated during the AMD Advancing AI 2026 event held in San Francisco on June 23 that the two parties have almost reached an agreement. AMD has announced that the Helios AI server rack has entered mass production and is scheduled to be shipped by the end of the third quarter. Han Jin man, President of Samsung Electronics' Foundry Business, and Cho Sang yeon, Head of DSA, attended Lisa Su's keynote speech and negotiated with AMD executives to launch HBM4 supply.

The survey released by the European Central Bank on Friday showed that inflation expectations in the eurozone have remained largely unchanged over the past three months, with an expected average inflation rate of 2.7% this year, an estimated inflation rate of 2.2% in 2027, and an inflation rate of 2% and expected to remain at that level in 2028.