The Office for National Statistics of the UK announced on September 16 that in August 2026, the Consumer Price Index CPI rose by 3.1% year-on-year, higher than 2.9% in July; the index including the cost of own housing CPIH rose by 3.3% year-on-year, also higher than the previous month's 3.1%. Both indices increased by 0.5% month-on-month, compared to a month-on-month increase of 0.3% in August 2025. The main factor driving annual inflation upwards was transportation, particularly car fuel costs. At the same time, the core CPI remained at 2.6% year-on-year, and the core CPIH also stayed at 2.9%; there was no acceleration in the rise in service prices either. The overall index has rebounded significantly, but the pressure is mainly concentrated on goods and energy.

On September 16th, OpenAI announced a new round of product updates for ChatGPT Ads, among which Sponsored Agents has drawn the most attention. After seeing the ads, users can proactively enter an agent dialogue sponsored by merchants and clearly labeled with relevant information. There, they can continue to ask questions about size, features, applicable scenarios, etc., before deciding whether to visit the merchants' websites. OpenAI also introduced an ad management plugin, suggestions for copywriting and images, as well as text adaptation features. Additionally, HubSpot and Shopify were integrated into the system. It is important to note that the sponsored agent feature is currently only being tested with some advertisers in the United States and has not yet been fully rolled out to users worldwide or all merchants.

U.S. officials say large oil companies may invest in Venezuela; Brent crude oil prices rose to $108.75, with markets focusing on global supply prospects.

Theo Launches Tokenized Silver Product thSLVR, and Incorporates Related Leased Assets into the Underlying Support Scope of thUSD.

VIVA connects to the Iris network based on Avalanche, using the stablecoin USDi for settlement and US dollar reserves, indicating that stablecoins are entering the financial management scenario of telecommunications enterprises.