Venezuela's oil exports in August were essentially unchanged at 1.17 mln b/d.

Royal Bank of Canada analyst Abbas Kashwani said persistent yen weakness may prompt the Bank of Japan to either raise rates or intervene in FX markets in the coming weeks. Yen depreciation over the past month has largely offset the effect of prior BOJ intervention. Kashwani said a sustained yen recovery would likely require an aggressive tightening cycle, which the BOJ is unlikely to pursue at the expense of growth, but the bank could still lift rates enough to prevent excessive yen weakness until the JGB market stabilizes next year, creating scope for a rebound.

CHINA arrived in Cairo on the evening of Sept 1 local time for a state visit to Egypt at the invitation of SISI.