SMM News, July 3: According to SMM, 5090 Monthly Rental Quotes and Cost Disclosure Multiple channels confirmed that the 5090 monthly rental is in the range of 11,500–13,000 yuan per unit per month. A certain operator said that the 5090 selling price is 12,000–13,000 yuan, with a market floor price of about 11,000+ yuan. A channel reported 11,500 yuan per month. Cost side, the operator disclosed that equipment depreciation is about 8,000–9,000 yuan, cabinet electricity 2,000–3,000 yuan. Based on a three-year payback calculation, the procurement cost per card is about 400,000 yuan, and a monthly rental of 11,000 yuan basically leaves no profit margin. The operator has already ordered the 5090 but has not yet received the goods. SMM previously learned that downstream end-users currently have limited interest in the 4090/5090, with sought-after card models concentrated on high-end computing power such as the H100. A100-40G 8-GPU Server Cloud Instance Quoted at 8,800 Yuan/Month Configuration: 2×Xeon Gold 6248R + A100-40G×8 + 32×64GB DDR4 + IB 200Gbps×4. A certain intermediary received a demand for 4 units from a client, quoting the cloud instance at 8,800 yuan. Another channel merchant confirmed that spot cargo is available at this price level. For bare metal, multiple sources reported that demand for the A100-40G is relatively low, with the mainstream version being the 80G. H100 Mid-Small Cluster Demand Active A certain operator plans to order H100s, with an initial batch of about 32 units, seeking closed demand for 3–5 years. SMM learned that competitor quotes for the H100 can stretch to 80,000 yuan per unit per month, while buyers' psychological price is 74,000–75,000 yuan, and they only wait and see above this price. 910B2 Clearance Dilemma: A certain operator's 910B2 server (4×Kunpeng920 + 8×Ascend 910B2-64G + 1TB DDR4 + RoCE v2 networking) is quoted at 13,500 yuan per month. The 910B2 is reportedly severely slow-selling, with only enterprises that have high vacancy rates and require server deployment showing interest, and actual orders are very few. The clearance faces structural obstacles: interested parties need to integrate the newly leased equipment into their own IDC unified cluster, but operator resources cannot support equipment leaving the data room due to resource attributes, and remote management (equipment roaming) cannot be implemented; they are currently discussing the possibility of building dedicated lines with technical teams. The 910C had already been absorbed previously. SMM Analysis: In the current market, the structural mismatch in computing power supply and demand remains prominent. High-end computing power demand is strong, and once supply is released, it is quickly absorbed, presenting a tight situation of "instant clearance upon release"; in the low-end computing power sector, price trends are tending toward stability, reflecting relatively limited downstream demand support. Overall, the market is undergoing significant stratification and divergence, and the supply and demand sides have not yet formed an effective match in the structural dimension. It is expected that before the capacity structure undergoes substantial adjustment, such a mismatch pattern will be difficult to fundamentally reverse in the short term.

Philippine market: Zambales and Northern Luzon officially entered the rainy season. A low-pressure system may make landfall on Monday, and CIF prices followed Indonesian procurement prices lower. Overall CIF China offers fell this week: 1.3% at $45.5–47/wmt, 1.4% at $56–57/wmt, 1.5% at $64–65/wmt, and 1.8% at $91–94/wmt. CIF Indonesia offers held flat, with 1.3% at $45–46/wmt and 1.4% at $55–56/wmt, largely aligning with smelter tender prices. Freight rates eased notably this week: Surigao–Lianyungang around $13.25/wmt, Surigao–Indonesia around $11/wmt. Overall freight rates dropped by around $0.5/wmt WoW, significantly easing the situation where “freight rates stayed high.” FOB prices also moved lower, with 1.3% at $33–35/wmt, 1.4% at $41.5–43.5/wmt, and 1.8% at $76–78/wmt, confirming the earlier view that FOB would follow CIF’s pullback. Supply side, Zambales and Northern Luzon officially entered the rainy season, worsening mine roads, disrupting shipments, and leading to low outbound volumes. In terms of weather, the Philippines is expected to see continuous rainfall for the first five days of next week, shifting to mainly showers in the last two days, with total weekly rainfall surging across the country. Meanwhile, a low-pressure system is forming in the eastern waters; though not expected to intensify into a tropical depression or storm, it is forecast to make landfall in the central-southern Philippines next Monday and move northwestward across land, affecting Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. In major producing areas, cumulative weekly rainfall next week around the Manicani-Homonhon-Dinagat-Surigao belt is expected to more than double WoW, with the Homonhon area likely to be impacted by swells for 2–3 days. Dinapigue’s rainfall is forecast to be about six times this week’s level, with wave heights reaching around 1.7 meters on Wednesday and Thursday. RTN, Ipilan, and Berong loading points in Palawan are all expected to see higher rainfall next week compared to this week. In Zambales, cumulative weekly rainfall is forecast to be about 2.5 times this week’s level. Despite sustained weather disruptions, Chinese port inventories are already high, so weather’s support to prices remains very limited. Cost side, international oil prices pulled back slightly, alleviating mining and transportation cost pressures, but spot freight rates remained at relatively high levels, with the easing not yet fully materialized. Demand side, smelters in both China and Indonesia held dual-high inventories, with limited near-term restocking appetite. The buyer-dominated pattern persisted, and spot trading stayed sluggish. On inventories, as of June 26, Philippine nickel ore stocks at Chinese ports stood at around 6.44 million wmt (approximately 51,000 mt in nickel metal content), sustaining the ample supply picture. Indonesian market: HMA dropped sharply MoM—down 7.6% to a new low; RKAB revision window opened; heavy rainfall continued to disrupt shipments in Halmahera and Obi. Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources published the HMA nickel reference price for the first half of July at $17,225.67/dmt, a significant drop of about 7.6% from $18,642.33/dmt in the second half of June. Based on this, the theoretical HPM price for Ni 1.6% saprolite ore is around $66.6/wmt, and for Ni 1.2% limonite ore around $47.4/wmt. Premiums: premiums for 1.6% material remained stable; premiums for 1.4% material were around $1.3/wmt; for 1.5% and 1.6%, around $3/wmt—overall limited movement. In spot trading, 1.2% limonite ore was offered at around $30/wmt, and 1.5% saprolite ore at around $65/wmt, with both declining by about $5.5/wmt in total this week, mainly driven by the sharp fall in the HMA reference price. Supply side, the impact of the rainy season on Sulawesi production areas remained relatively mild in some regions, with limited disruption to overall shipments. However, weather conditions in Halmahera and Obi Island were generally severe, with persistent heavy rainfall and deteriorating sea conditions already causing some restrictions on mine production. Despite shipment disruptions, overall smelter inventory levels remained relatively adequate, limiting the near-term influence on procurement pace. Meanwhile, smelters continued to demand higher ore grades; low-grade ore (1.3–1.4%) supply was largely filled by Philippine cargoes, and multiple smelters turned to actively seeking high-grade ore (≥1.45%). Yet domestic high-grade ore supply remained scarce, with circulating grades concentrated in the 1.45–1.50% Ni range, intensifying procurement competition. Spot transaction prices for 1.2% limonite ore stayed stable this week; smelter procurement stayed low, with general reluctance to transact at HPM theoretical prices, deep discounts persisted, and low HPAL operating rates continued to weigh on purchasing prices. On the policy front, on Thursday, June 25, Tri Winarno, Director-General of Mineral and Coal at Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, clarified that the total RKAB quota for nickel ore in 2026 has not yet been finalized. The government is still evaluating companies’ revision applications through the official review mechanism, with no specific figure set, focusing on assessing actual industry demand rather than relaxing restrictions. The RKAB revision window officially opened on July 1 and runs until July 31, with mining companies already initiating preparation work for revision applications and submitting production quota adjustment materials intensively; all adjustments are subject to full review.

SMM July 3 News: Pricing side, a certain operator in the Yangtze River Delta is currently quoting a Huawei 910B server (4×Kunpeng 920 + 8×Ascend 910-B2 64G, 1TB DDR4, NVMe + RoCE v2 networking) at 13,500 yuan/unit/month, equivalent to 2.34 yuan per card per hour. Another operator's 910-B2 specification is quoted at about 15,000 yuan/month, equivalent to 2.61 yuan per card per hour, showing strong price competitiveness in the domestic computing power leasing market. Online public pricing side, the standard 910B specification has a monthly rent of around 22,000 yuan, equivalent to 3.82 yuan per card per hour; however, factoring in annual rental discounts and other considerations, actual transaction prices could have room to decline. Demand and clearance side, SMM has learned that overall sales of the 910-B2 are struggling. Only enterprises with "high vacancy rates and needing server occupancy for digestion" show purchasing interest. A previous flash report indicated that structural obstacles exist in clearing the 910-B2: interested parties' existing equipment is deployed in their own IDCs, and new leased resources need to be integrated into a unified cluster for coordinated scheduling; however, the operator's resources are located in off-site intelligent computing centers, and constrained by equipment attributes, off-site management (equipment relocation) is difficult to implement, directly stalling transaction progress. Regarding the 910C, a certain operator previously had a batch that has been cleared. According to online information, Huawei plans to double the production of the 910C in 2026, with a clear trend of resources tilting toward the C-series. SMM analysis shows that the 910 series presents a differentiated landscape of "tight supply of 910C and sluggish sales of 910B2." The core pain point of the 910-B2 is not price—13,500–15,000 yuan/month is not considered high in domestic computing power—but rather the lack of reasonable absorption scenarios on the demand side. If demand for domestic large-model inference continues to grow in the future, the 910-B2's advantage of being positioned for both training and inference could be repriced; however, in the short term, it remains a buyer's market.

Iron ore prices followed an initial rise and subsequent decline this week, with the price center shifting further lower. The core drivers were that after the ninth round of coke price cuts was implemented, steel mill losses widened further. Combined with expectations of environmental protection-driven production restrictions in some regions, blast furnace maintenance plans increased, hot metal production continued to pull back, and the demand side was clearly under pressure. In terms of supply, global iron ore shipments and China’s port arrivals both increased MoM, with supply-side pressure intensifying somewhat and further weighing on ore prices. During the week, market talk that benchmark negotiations might restrict low-grade ore port cargo pick-up pushed futures to a short-term rebound. However, the market broadly viewed the probability of this measure actually being implemented as low, and after sentiment was released, price logic returned to a demand-led mode. Affected by this, spot prices performed weaker than futures. In port spot cargoes, the weekly average of the MMI 61% index slipped 5 yuan/mt MoM. Chart: MMI 61% Port Spot Index Source: SMM The domestic iron ore concentrate market edged lower this week, with regional divergence in performance. Prices remained basically stable in Tangshan, Qian’an, and Qianxi in Hebei. Areas such as Chaoyang, Beipiao, and Jianping in western Liaoning edged down by 5-10 yuan/mt. East China saw a pullback of 10-15 yuan/mt. Overall domestic ore production remained steady, but the resource landscape diverged by region. Supply in Hebei remained somewhat tight; within this, the Chengde area saw a further contraction in resource supply due to a mining accident, which provided some support to local iron ore concentrate prices. On the demand side, hot metal production at steel mill blast furnaces remained at a high level, still offering support to iron ore concentrate demand. However, steel mill profits have narrowed significantly recently, and the overall desire to bargain down prices is strong, causing local iron ore concentrate prices to edge down slightly. Chart: Tight Domestic Ore Supply Supports Prices — Domestic vs. Imported Ore Price Spread to Widen Further Next Week Outlook for Next Week Looking ahead to next week, the probability of the 10th round of coke price increases being implemented is relatively high. Increasing steel mill maintenance resulting from losses will lead to a larger decline in hot metal production. Iron ore demand will continue to deteriorate. Meanwhile, mines will push shipments in June, and imported ore port arrivals still have upside room over the next two weeks, leading to a slight accumulation in port inventories. In addition, a new round of talks between the US and Iran is scheduled for mid-month, and crude oil prices still face downside expectations, so iron ore shipping costs will remain weak. Iron ore prices will remain under pressure. However, considering the disturbance from benchmark negotiation news, there may be opportunities for a price rebound. Overall, iron ore prices are expected to remain in the doldrums next week. Domestically, the tight iron ore supply situation is expected to be difficult to alleviate. But given that demand for iron ore concentrates has weakened somewhat, steel mills’ push for lower prices will continue to dominate. The game between sellers and buyers continues. Overall, the domestic iron ore market is expected to be in the doldrums next week, but the decline may be smaller than that for imported ore.

[SMM Analysis: Surging Demand in H1 2026 Drives Industry Expansion, Anode Volume and Price Both Rise, Welcoming Recovery Opportunities] SMM July 3: In H1 2026, a surge in downstream demand drove steady improvement in the anode industry’s prosperity, significantly releasing overall market vitality.

[SMM Comment: New National Standard Implementation Combined with Tightening Tax Compliance Accelerates Rare Earth Scrap Recycling Industry from "Chaos" to "Order"] On July 1, GB/T 46992-2025, "Technical specification for classification and comprehensive utilization of recyclable rare earth secondary resources," officially came into effect. The standard systematically classifies rare earth secondary resources into nine major categories for the first time and innovatively designs a three-level "SRRE" coding system. Together with GB/T 23588-2020, "NdFeB production and processing recycled materials," they form a complementary framework—the latter provides detailed technical specifications for the single NdFeB category, while the former offers a management framework covering all categories. Both standards are now in effect simultaneously, marking a new stage of systematic management for rare earth secondary resources.