China's Power Grid Construction Booms in 2026, Driving Over 250 Billion Yuan in Upstream and Downstream Investments

Amid the current turmoil in the Middle East and soaring energy prices, US consumer confidence deteriorated significantly. The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for April came in at 47.6, a sharp decline from 53.3 in March, hitting a record low. Meanwhile, the preliminary 1-year inflation expectations reached 4.8%, surging 1 percentage point from March, marking the largest increase in nearly a year.

Driven by a sharp surge in energy prices, the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March showed significant growth. CPI rose 3.3% YoY, marking the highest reading since June 2024. On a MoM basis, CPI increased 0.9% in March, the largest gain since July 2022. Focusing further on energy prices, energy prices surged 10.9% MoM in March, the largest single-month increase since September 2005. Among energy price components, gasoline prices stood out in particular, rising 21.2%, the largest monthly gain since 1967, and the increase in gasoline prices accounted for nearly three-quarters of the month's CPI gain.

Data released by CAAM showed that in March, China's automobile production and sales reached 2.917 million units and 2.899 million units, down 3% and 0.6% YoY, respectively. Among them, new energy vehicle production and sales reached 1.231 million units and 1.252 million units, down 3.6% and up 1.2% YoY, respectively, while exports were up 1.3 times YoY.