IEA monthly report: global oil demand is forecast to rise by 1.2 mln b/d in Q4.

According to Yomiuri, 14 Japanese universities, companies and research institutes have formed a consortium to accelerate mass production and commercialization of sodium‑ion batteries. The group plans a roughly ¥760 million budget to develop mass‑production technology for stationary energy‑storage batteries aimed at utilities and energy firms. Tokyo University of Science said sodium‑ion chemistry has been validated at lab scale and the project is intended to advance it to practical application. Sodium‑ion batteries do not use rare metals, a strategic advantage given Japan’s constrained access to key minerals. The consortium says production processes are similar to ternary lithium‑ion cells, allowing sodium‑ion cells to share existing production lines and potentially speed adoption once mass‑production techniques are established. Yomiuri also noted about one in four new cars sold globally is electric, supporting rising storage‑battery demand, while separate Japanese efforts to commercialize solid‑state lithium‑ion batteries continue to advance.

France June harmonized CPI (HICP) final YoY 2.0%; consensus 2.0%, prior 2.0%.