[Malaysia] Malaysia’s domestic steel market remained broadly stable, with mainstream local HRC offers at around USD 510/tonne. Rebar base prices stood at approximately USD 537–547/tonne, while wire rod was quoted at around USD 537/tonne. Rebar and wire rod prices remained close, indicating relatively stable long-product pricing, while HRC continued to trade at a noticeable discount. Mill offers showed limited movement, with downstream demand providing little support for broader price increases.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Commentary] SS Futures Consolidate on a Subdued Note, Spot Stainless Steel Largely Stable; Trading Remained Sluggish Amid Off-Season and Typhoon Impact According to SMM on August 10, SS futures pulled back slightly. The night session on Friday saw SS decline, but after opening on Monday, it largely maintained a consolidation pattern. As of the close, the most-traded SS contract settled at 14,615 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the fluctuation range of SS futures was limited, and traders' spot quotations were largely stable. However, as the market remains in the demand off-season, compounded by the impact of typhoon weather, trading remained sluggish. SS futures most-traded contract. As of 10:15 a.m., SS2610 was at 14,655 yuan/mt, up 85 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for Wuxi 304/2B were in the range from 315 to 665 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of Wuxi cold-rolled 201/2B coil was stable; the average price of cold-rolled 304/2B coil, trimmed edge, was flat in Wuxi and flat in Foshan; the price of cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in the Wuxi area was flat; the quotation for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil in Wuxi was flat; and cold-rolled 430/2B coil in both Wuxi and Foshan was flat. This week, stainless steel futures were disturbed by both industry news and capital flows, showing a pattern of wild swings overall, with an intense tug-of-war between bulls and bears. During the week, news on additional nickel ore quotas from Indonesia's RKAB repeatedly stirred market expectations, coupled with shifts in capital flows in the futures market, leading SS futures to rise initially before falling. Mid-week, prices briefly tested the 15,100 yuan/mt level, but subsequently, as expectations for nickel ore quota growth heated up, the confidence of bulls faded, and the futures...

SMM August 10 At 11:30 today, the futures closing price was 107,770 yuan/mt, down 630 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, and the average spot premiums were 80 yuan/mt, up 10 yuan/mt DoD. The copper scrap price fell 300 yuan/mt DoD, with the copper scrap sales sentiment index falling to 2.71 and the purchasing sentiment index to 1.96. The price difference between copper cathode and copper scrap was 4,404 yuan/mt, down 281 yuan/mt DoD. The price difference between copper cathode rod and secondary copper rod was 1,650 yuan/mt. According to the SMM survey, under earlier arbitrage trading, downstream scrap utilization enterprises had allocated considerable funds to raw material procurement and futures. As copper prices pulled back after a short-term peak, scrap utilization enterprises awaited opportunities to take profits on futures, and they did not take action in spot procurement during the initial stage of the copper price pullback. Meanwhile, copper scrap suppliers were eager to offload their high-priced inventories, and intraday transactions showed mediocre performance.

Yemen's Houthi movement said on August 9 that it had launched a drone attack on Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery in Saudi Arabia, which has a crude processing capacity of around 400,000 barrels per day. Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said the resulting fire was later extinguished with no injuries, while no specific supply losses have been reported. The Houthis also launched missile and drone strikes on Yemen's Mocha port near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, further increasing security risks for energy and commercial shipping in the Red Sea. If shipping risks in the Red Sea continue to escalate, higher war-risk insurance premiums, bunker fuel costs and potential rerouting expenses could push up international coal freight rates and CFR landed costs.

In August 2026, WeLion New Energy is valued at ¥20 billion. This year has turned solid-state batteries into a capital hotspot, with WeLion (¥20B), QingTao Energy (¥27.9B), and ProLogium ($3.8B) all rushing to go public, vying for the title of “first solid-state battery listed company.” Meanwhile, valuations among already-listed global players show sharp divergence – QuantumScape (QS) trades at about $3.3 billion, while Solid Power (SLDP) languishes at just $465 million.

SMM, August 10: Metals market: As of the midday close, domestic base metals showed mixed performance. SHFE copper fell 0.52%, SHFE aluminum rose 0.15%, SHFE lead increased 0.41%, SHFE zinc dropped 1.68%, SHFE tin lost 1.34%, and SHFE nickel edged up 0.33%. Additionally, the most-traded foundry aluminum futures edged up, while the most-traded alumina futures edged down. The most-traded lithium carbonate futures rose 1.5%. The most-traded silicon metal futures gained 0.47%. The most-traded polysilicon futures fell 2.54%. Ferrous metals showed mixed performance. Iron ore slipped 0.7%, rebar lost 0.47%, and hot-rolled coil dipped 0.15%. Stainless steel advanced 0.48%. Coking coal and coke: the most-traded coking coal contract rose 1.75% and the most-traded coke contract added 0.43%. In the overseas base metals market, as of 11:43, LME metals broadly rose. LME copper gained 0.3%, LME aluminum climbed 0.69%, LME lead rose 0.29%, and LME zinc edged down 0.09%. LME tin was up 0.52% and LME nickel was down 0.21%. In precious metals, as of 11:43, COMEX gold fell 0.28% and COMEX silver rose 0.36%. In domestic precious metals: SHFE gold gained 1.5% and the most-traded SHFE silver futures rose 2.05%. Additionally, as of the midday close, the most-traded platinum futures rose 0.61% and the most-traded palladium futures fell 0.05%. As of the midday close, the most-traded European container shipping futures fell 2.8% to 1,634 points. As of 11:43 on August 10, selected futures’ midday quotes: Spot and Fundamentals Copper: Today, Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 100 yuan/mt, down 60 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was quoted at parity, down 60 yuan/mt; SX-EW copper was quoted at parity, down 60 yuan/mt. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 107,945 yuan/mt, down 410 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 107,835 yuan/mt, down 410 yuan/mt. In the spot market, Guangdong inventory edged up after the weekend, mainly due to increased arrivals of imported copper... Macro Front Domestic side: [NBS: July CPI up 0.5% YoY, PPI up 3.5% YoY] NBS data showed that in July, due to imported factors, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.1% MoM and rose 0.5% YoY. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.3% MoM and 0.9% YoY. Overall, CPI maintained a mild increase. China saw increased demand in some sectors, but affected by imported factors and seasonality, the producer price index (PPI) fell 0.7% MoM and rose 3.5% YoY, with the growth rate pulling back 0.6 percentage points from the previous month. In July 2026, China's producer price index rose 3.5% YoY and fell 0.7% MoM. The industrial producer purchase price index rose 5.5% YoY and fell 1.0% MoM. From January to July, the average producer price index rose 1.8% YoY, and the average producer purchase price index rose 2.8% YoY. Dong Lijuan, chief statistician at the Urban Department of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), commented on the CPI and PPI data for July 2026. [PBOC reverse repo operation resulted in a net withdrawal of 45 billion yuan on the day] The PBOC conducted 18 billion yuan in 7-day reverse repo operations today, with 63 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repos maturing, resulting in a net withdrawal of 45 billion yuan on the day. (Jin10 Data App) US dollar: As of 11:43, the US dollar index rose 0.12% to 99.72. According to the CME "FedWatch": The probability of the US Fed keeping rates unchanged by September is 55.6%, and the probability of a cumulative 25 basis point rate hike is 44.4%. The probability of the US Fed keeping rates unchanged by October is 40.8%, the probability of a cumulative 25 basis point rate hike is 47.4%, and the probability of a cumulative 50 basis point rate hike is 11.8%. (Jin10 Data App) Economists surveyed by Reuters expect the US July headline CPI annual rate to fall to 3.4% from 3.5% in June; the core CPI annual rate is expected to fall to 2.5% from 2.6% in the previous month. Economists at Citigroup believe that, as expected, if there is a second consecutive month of softer inflation readings, it would mean more than one month of data pointing to cooling inflationary pressures, essentially ruling out a September rate hike. However, economists also expect a slight increase in core services inflation in July, with prices rising 0.3% MoM. Previously, the data was flat from May to June. Bank of America analysts said a rebound in core services indicators could still keep a September rate hike on the table. Analyst Kate Duguid said that if the latter view prevails and inflation data comes in below expectations, then the Fed rate hike could be postponed to December or later. (Jin10 Data App) The US CPI report released on Wednesday is undoubtedly the most watched data this week. Economists generally expected the annual inflation rate to slow slightly, but core inflation to likely stay high, reflecting persistent price pressures in the services and housing sectors. Based on the latest data, the US Fed remained cautious, emphasizing the need for further confidence that inflation was moving sustainably toward its 2% target before considering interest rate cuts. (Jin10 Data App) Data: Data for the Eurozone's August Sentix Investor Confidence Index and China's July M2 money supply YoY have been released today. On the radar: The Bank of Japan released a summary of opinions from its July monetary policy meeting. Crude Oil: As of 11:43, oil prices rose in both benchmarks, with WTI up 0.67% and Brent up 0.91%. Stalled negotiations between Iran and the US over reopening the Strait of Hormuz supported oil prices. Weekend talks between Iran and Oman failed to reach an agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi explicitly stated that Tehran currently had no direct negotiations with the US. According to media reports, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the US met six conditions, including ending military and aggressive actions against Iran and its allies, and providing compensation to Iran. The US insisted that any reopening arrangement must guarantee unimpeded freedom of navigation without conditions like Iranian approvals, fees, or controls. Citigroup noted that attacks by Yemen's Houthi forces on Saudi-affiliated vessels near the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait continued, keeping risks beyond Hormuz also high. (Wall Street CN) Spot Market Overview: ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ►