[Flat Products] Flat-product exports steady day-on-day, HRC deals at 489-497 USD/tonne On 8 July, Chinese HRC and other flat-product export prices were steady day-on-day, with HRC export deals concluded at 489-497 USD/tonne FOB. A rally in the domestic futures board that day lifted inquiries somewhat, but most participants judged the upward move to lack staying power, mills showed limited willingness to raise offers, and actual transactions reportedly improved little. At the same time, renewed US-Iran tensions kept Middle East inquiries from recovering meaningfully, and overseas buying stayed cautious overall. Regional fundamentals were soft: Vietnam's Formosa cut its domestic HRC price for August-September delivery by about 40 USD/tonne, with SAE1006 HRC quoted around 545 USD/tonne in Ho Chi Minh City, while Hoa Phat had earlier trimmed its August HRC offer by about 34 USD/tonne, and falling Southeast Asian import prices further capped any upside in Chinese flatproduct export offers. [Billet] Billet export FOB edges up to 459-462 USD/tonne On 8 July, Chinese billet export FOB prices rose by about 1 USD/tonne day-on-day, quoted in a range of 459-462 USD/tonne. On specific terms, 3sp billet in 150*150mm was offered at 462 USD/tonne FOB out of Jiangyin port. Inquiries reportedly increased on the day, but buyers largely stayed on the sidelines after checking prices, so concluding deals remained difficult; the gain reflected a modest lift in offers rather than any pickup in transacted volume. [Rebar] Rebar export prices little changed, order intake recovers slowly On 8 July, market feedback indicated that Chinese rebar export prices had shown little movement recently, with limited room for negotiation. On specific terms, B500B rebar in Φ18mm was offered at 483 USD/tonne FOB out of Tianjin port. Overall, export order intake was recovering slowly and booked volumes had shrunk, with a few export-oriented mills cutting output for maintenance; with both supply and demand subdued, prices lacked clear direction.

In H1 2026, the nickel salt (nickel sulphate) market experienced wild swings of "two rallies and two pullbacks," with price movements dominated by a pattern of cost support and demand-side drive.

Weichai Power’s WP15 direct-injection heavy-duty hydrogen internal combustion engine recently passed the authoritative environmental emission certification test, becoming the first product of its kind in China and globally to complete all core verifications under the China VI regulation. This achievement provides new technical support for the commercial application of zero-carbon power in heavy equipment. It is understood that the WP15 direct-injection heavy-duty hydrogen internal combustion engine completed rigorous validation under full operating conditions, with pollutant emission levels significantly better than national standard requirements and CO₂ emissions close to zero. Leveraging technologies such as Weichai Power’s independently developed flexible direct injection, the product achieves ultra-low NOx emissions and can adapt to stricter future environmental regulations through a simple after-treatment system. In terms of performance parameters, the WP15 hydrogen engine has a displacement of 14.6L, and in this test achieved a maximum power of 600 hp , peak torque of 2,800 N·m, and a maximum effective thermal efficiency of 46.8%. Its overall performance ranks among the first tier of global products with the same displacement. In terms of industrialisation adaptability, the parts commonality between this model and traditional fuel engines exceeds 90%, retaining the advantages of internal combustion engines such as reliability, durability, mature manufacturing systems, and ease of maintenance. At the same time, the product has relatively lenient requirements for hydrogen purity, which helps reduce end-user costs and improve the economics of promotion in heavy-duty scenarios. From an application scenario perspective, the WP15 heavy-duty hydrogen engine can be promoted for use in trunk heavy trucks, mines, ports, power generation units and other fields, and is particularly suitable for heavy-duty equipment scenarios with high loads, long operating times and high requirements for refueling efficiency. In recent years, Weichai Power has been continuously laying out hydrogen power technology, having established an R&D and industrial system for hydrogen internal combustion engines and formed a product matrix covering multiple technology routes and the full power range. The enterprise led the industry’s first National Key R&D project for hydrogen internal combustion engines, once set a new global record for thermal efficiency among similar products, and jointly launched China’s first commercially operated hydrogen internal combustion engine heavy truck with Sinotruk, achieving the first grid-connected operation of a pure hydrogen power generation unit in China. The emission certification of the WP15 direct-injection heavy-duty hydrogen internal combustion engine marks an important progress for Weichai Power in the zero-carbon power field. In the future, as the product enters mass production and demonstration projects advance, hydrogen internal combustion engines are expected to accelerate application in heavy transportation, mine transport, port operations, distributed power generation and other scenarios, providing support for the hydrogen energy industry and the upgrade of green equipment.

The DCE iron ore futures moved weakly today, with contract I2609 closing at 746 yuan/mt, up 0.88% from the previous trading day. Port spot prices rose about 5-7 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Trader activity was mediocre; steel mills purchased as needed. As of now, spot trading sentiment was lackluster. The latest SMM survey data further confirmed the weakening trend in iron ore demand. According to statistics, the national blast furnace operating rate fell to 89.78%, and daily average pig iron production dropped to 2.4406 million mt, down 15,400 mt MoM. Furthermore, affected by the commemorative activities in Tangshan, local environmental protection-related maintenance intensity is expected to increase, and the weakening momentum of hot metal is expected to have room to intensify. In the short term, the bearish fundamentals are worsening, but considering the currently high proportion of short positions in the futures market, selling pressure is nearly exhausted and the downward momentum on prices has begun to weaken. Short-term iron ore prices may move sideways. Subsequently, watch for short covering to drive a price rebound [SMM Steel]

[Magnesium market stable with weak trading, insufficient demand limits upside] Today, magnesium ingot prices were stable. Producers’ high inventory pressure remained unabated, the demand side was weak and pushed for lower prices, and support for price increases was insufficient. Continued attention should be paid to the subsequent implementation of production halts and maintenance by producers.

Recently, 30 hydrogen fuel cell sanitation vehicles, powered by hydrogen power systems provided by Weishi Energy, were delivered to Baoding Gaoxin Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. These vehicles will mainly be used for road washing and sweeping, water spraying and dust suppression on main roads in the Baoding High-tech Zone, further promoting the green upgrading of urban sanitation equipment in the area. The vehicles delivered this time include two types: hydrogen-powered water sprinklers and hydrogen-powered washing and sweeping vehicles, jointly developed by Weishi Energy, Dongfeng Special Vehicle Co., Ltd., and Changsha Yingfeng Environmental Industry Co., Ltd. The vehicles are respectively equipped with Weishi Energy’s self-developed commercial vehicle fuel cell systems and hydrogen storage systems, featuring zero emission, pollution-free, and low noise , suitable for continuous operation on urban roads, in parks, and in public areas. Compared with purely electric sanitation vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell sanitation vehicles have advantages in refueling efficiency and environmental adaptability. These vehicles take approximately 5 to 8 minutes to refuel, and a single refueling can support continuous operation for more than 10 hours, meeting the heavy-load, high-frequency, and long-duration operational requirements of sanitation vehicles. Sanitation operations typically involve fixed routes, centralized parking, and continuous duty, which align well with the hydrogen refueling infrastructure and maintenance management conditions required for promoting hydrogen-powered vehicles. Therefore, hydrogen-powered sanitation vehicles have become one of the important scenarios for the large-scale deployment of fuel cell commercial vehicles. Previously, Weishi Energy had promoted the implementation of several hydrogen demonstration projects in Baoding, including the country's first "hundred-unit-level" hydrogen heavy-duty truck demonstration line, Hebei province's first 200-unit hydrogen-powered cold chain transport vehicle project, and the country's first 406-unit hydrogen-powered sanitation vehicle demonstration project. With this delivery, the scale of hydrogen vehicle promotion in Baoding has further expanded, moving toward the **"thousand-unit-level" application stage**. After these vehicles are put into operation, they will expand the scale of the hydrogen sanitation fleet in Baoding's core areas, improve sanitation operation efficiency and cleanliness levels, and provide a demonstration reference for the commercial application of hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles in the field of urban public services. As an important city in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei fuel cell vehicle demonstration city cluster, Baoding has continued to promote the demonstration operation of hydrogen vehicles and the coordinated development of the industry chain in recent years. The delivery of hydrogen sanitation vehicles by Weishi Energy this time will further consolidate the local first-mover advantage in the large-scale application of hydrogen vehicles. In the future, Weishi Energy will continue to deepen collaboration around fuel cell systems, hydrogen storage systems, and vehicle application scenarios, promote the expanded application of hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles in sanitation, logistics, cold chain, heavy-duty trucks, and other fields, and contribute to the construction of urban green transportation and low-carbon public service systems.