On Oct. 20 local time, the new government led by Prime Minister Niculescu won a parliamentary confidence vote and was sworn in at the presidential palace.

WTI and Brent rose over $1 to $96.72/bbl and $104.99/bbl respectively. Earlier reports said talks between Iran and the US remain ongoing; reports claiming the sides are about to reach a deal are inaccurate.

State Council Information Office said at an Oct 20 press briefing that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is studying and drafting policy measures for a new generation of intelligent manufacturing to accelerate deep integration of artificial intelligence and manufacturing. MIIT plans to leverage China’s active AI innovation and rich manufacturing use cases and will focus on four priorities: phased cultivation of smart factories, development of intelligent equipment, accelerated R&D and deployment of intelligent technologies, and deeper international cooperation on intelligent manufacturing.