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Asahi Shimbun: Japan plans to adjust its defense spending to a record high of over 9 trillion yen in fiscal year 2026.

[Israel Approves Gas Export Agreement to Egypt] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on the 17th that he had approved a cooperation agreement to export natural gas to Egypt. Energy Minister Eli Cohen said this is the largest natural gas export agreement in Israeli history. The agreement is worth a total of 112 billion shekels (approximately 3.23 shekels to 1 US dollar), of which 58 billion shekels will go directly into the Israeli national treasury. According to reports, under the agreement, US energy giant Chevron and Israel's New Mediterranean Energy Company, as major operators of the Leviathan gas field, will export natural gas to Egypt. (Xinhua)

The Constitutional Court of South Korea upheld the impeachment motion against National Police Agency Commissioner Cho Ji-ho, removing him from office.

According to data from the Thai Rice Exporters Association, the price of 5% broken Thai white rice, which serves as the Asian benchmark, rose 0.7% to $430 per ton on December 17, 2025.

[Institutions: Gold is Increasingly Becoming a "Centerstone Asset"] 1. In a recent report, Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen points out that in a fragmented, fiscally strained, and geopolitically uncertain world, gold is increasingly becoming a "cornerstone asset." Its strong performance over the past two years is not only due to a favorable macroeconomic environment but also signifies a profound shift in the global financial system—investors' pursuit of "trust, diversification, and resilience" has become as important as "yields and growth." 2. However, the report also warns that gold is not without risks as it enters the new year. The most direct risks come from positioning and capital flows. Given the significant gains in gold and silver in 2025, the upcoming annual rebalancing of major commodity indices will trigger a large sell-off in the futures market to adjust weights, a technical process that could cause significant market volatility in the short term.

US President Trump is expected to sign an executive order at 1:30 p.m. ET (2:30 a.m. Friday Beijing time). Additionally, Trump is scheduled to sign the National Defense Authorization Act at 6:00 p.m. ET (7:00 a.m. Friday Beijing time).