A University of Michigan survey showed that the preliminary US consumer sentiment index for June rose to 48.9 from a record low of 44.8 in May, marking the first rebound in nearly four months, though still at a historically low level. Thanks to the recent pullback in oil prices, consumers' one-year inflation expectations pulled back from 4.8% to 4.6%.

A senior US government official disclosed that the US side holds "quite high" confidence in signing a memorandum of understanding with Iran within the coming days, with the specific confidence level between "80% and 85%". Additionally, the official stated that the US side is confident Israel will support this MoU between the US and Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said, however, that once the two sides complete the final stage of negotiations, the MoU will be signed and announced immediately. In particular, the first stage of the signing will be conducted electronically and remotely, a process expected to be completed within the coming days. Araghchi added that Iran will charge fees for services related to the Strait of Hormuz.

Official Iranian media disclosed the specific contents of a draft 14-point memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran, covering clauses including the US commitment to lifting sanctions, withdrawing troops from around Iran, ending the maritime blockade, opening the Strait of Hormuz, and unfreezing Iran's frozen assets. However, the draft did not involve Iran's missile plan or nuclear-related agreements. Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif Shehbaz stated that the US and Iran had already reached consensus on the text of a peace agreement. Iranian Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian Hossein said that the two sides "have never been closer to a memorandum of understanding." However, US President Trump Donald pointed out that the draft US-Iran agreement released by Iranian media was "completely unrelated to the written agreement reached by the two sides" and did not reflect the actual situation.

SMM June 13: Metal market: Overnight, base metals broadly rose in both domestic and overseas markets, with only LME nickel edging down 0.03%. SHFE tin led the gains with a 2.19% increase, while LME copper, LME zinc, LME tin, and SHFE zinc all rose over 1%—LME copper up 1.02%, LME zinc up 1.63%, LME tin up 1.75%, and SHFE zinc up 1.48%. The remaining metals saw gains within 1%. In addition, alumina's main contract rose 0.86%, and cast aluminum's main contract rose 0.45%. Overnight, ferrous metals broadly rose except for iron ore, which fell 0.13%, while rebar rose 0.44% and hot-rolled coil rose 0.59%. In the coking coal and coke segment, coking coal rose 0.22% and coke rose 2.73%. Overnight, precious metals rebounded across the board, with COMEX gold up 3.06% and COMEX silver up 6.44%. However, due to significant earlier declines, COMEX gold still recorded a weekly loss of 2.87%, marking its second consecutive weekly decline; COMEX silver fell 1.42% on a weekly basis, marking its fifth straight weekly decline. On the domestic front, SHFE gold rose 2.3%, and SHFE silver rose 5.22%. Among them, SHFE gold fell 6.79% on a weekly basis, also its fifth consecutive weekly decline; SHFE silver tumbled 10.14% on a weekly basis, also recording a five-week losing streak. Bank of China issued a notice stating that, recently, global geopolitics and the US Fed's monetary policy have faced considerable uncertainties. Under the influence of multiple factors, precious metal price fluctuations in and outside China have further intensified. To protect the interests of clients involved in precious metal-related businesses such as gold accumulation, interest-bearing gold accumulation, precious metal accounts, two-way precious metal accounts, and agency services for personal trading on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, our bank particularly reminds you to guard against market risks, engage in rational investment based on your financial status and risk tolerance, reasonably control precious metal positions, and mitigate the impact of short-term price fluctuations through long-term investment, to prevent the risk of capital losses from market fluctuations. As of 8:31 am on June 13, the overnight closing prices: Macro front Domestic front: [PBOC: Aggregate social financing rose by 17.48 trillion yuan in the first five months; new loans reached 9.11 trillion yuan; M2 money supply increased 8.6% YoY in May] Preliminary PBOC statistics show that the cumulative increase in aggregate social financing in the first five months of 2026 was 17.48 trillion yuan, which was 1.16 trillion yuan less than the same period last year. Of this, RMB loans issued to the real economy increased by 9 trillion yuan, 1.38 trillion yuan less YoY; foreign currency loans to the real economy, in yuan terms, increased by 115.3 billion yuan, 211.6 billion yuan more YoY; entrusted loans decreased by 103.1 billion yuan, 91.8 billion yuan more of a decrease YoY; trust loans increased by 5.7 billion yuan, 57 billion yuan less YoY; undiscounted bankers' acceptances decreased by 17.2 billion yuan, 151.4 billion yuan more of a decrease YoY; net corporate bond financing was 1.67 trillion yuan, 757.7 billion yuan more YoY; net government bond financing was 5.67 trillion yuan, 634 billion yuan less YoY; and equity financing by non-financial enterprises on the domestic market was 230.5 billion yuan, 79.9 billion yuan more YoY. Over the first five months, renminbi loans increased by 9.11 trillion yuan. By sector, household loans decreased by 631.4 billion yuan, of which short-term loans fell by 694.2 billion yuan and medium and long-term loans increased by 62.8 billion yuan; corporate (institutional) loans increased by 9.63 trillion yuan, of which short-term loans grew by 3.77 trillion yuan, medium and long-term loans grew by 4.99 trillion yuan, and bill financing increased by 699.9 billion yuan; loans to non-banking financial institutions decreased by 279.7 billion yuan. Central bank data shows that at end-May, the broad money (M2) balance stood at 353.67 trillion yuan, up 8.6% YoY. The narrow money (M1) balance was 114.89 trillion yuan, up 5.5% YoY. Currency in circulation (M0) balance was 14.69 trillion yuan, up 11.9% YoY. Over the first five months, net cash injection reached 590.7 billion yuan. According to the central bank's official website, to maintain ample liquidity in the banking system, on June 15, 2026, the People's Bank of China will conduct 600 billion yuan outright reverse repo operations via fixed quantity, interest rate tender, and multiple-price auction, with a tenor of six months (183 days), maturing on December 15, 2026. As for the US dollar: As of the overnight close, the US dollar index gained 0.1% to 99.79, down 0.28% for the week, with markets closely watching the peace talks between the US and Iran. On the 12th, multiple US media reported that a senior US government official said that day that the US has "80% to 85%" confidence in signing a memorandum of understanding with Iran in the coming days. Meanwhile, the US is "confident" that Israel will support this US-Iran MoU. According to reports from CNN, CBS, and others, the official said at a telephone press briefing, "We haven't quite reached the finish line, but we're very close." The official said the specific location and date for the US-Iran MoU signing have yet to be determined, but US President Trump previously suggested signing it in a European country, which could be an option. (Xinhua News Agency) On the 12th, Iranian media reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said that once Iran and the US complete the final stage of negotiations, the MoU will be signed and announced immediately. The first stage will be signed remotely via electronic means, "which could happen in the coming days." (Xinhua News Agency) In a report, HSBC analysts noted that the US dollar exchange rate is currently below the level implied by market expectations for US interest rates. They noted that as market expectations have recently shifted from anticipated rate cuts to possible rate hikes, the dollar's response has been relatively limited. They believe this likely reflects loose US financial conditions and market hopes for a resolution to the Middle East conflict. They said the dollar needs a clear stimulus from monetary policy. If the US Fed fails to support rate hike expectations at next week's meeting, the dollar “could be in trouble”. (Jinshi Data APP) Traders expect the Fed to keep rates unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75%, but see a more than 50% chance of a rate hike before year-end. On Thursday, after Trump’s comments on a potential deal, market pricing edged down slightly. Other currencies: Turner Chris, an analyst at ING, said that for EUR/USD trend, the Fed’s upcoming policy meeting may be more important than the ECB’s rate hike decision on Thursday. The ECB has already signaled further rate hikes, and the market is speculating about another hike in July. But he said that since the market has already priced in the ECB’s aggressive tightening cycle and is reluctant to push those expectations higher, the EUR/USD exchange rate has remained below 1.16. Moreover, the market believes the Fed may raise rates later this year. He said that unless the Fed pushes back against these expectations at its meeting on Wednesday, the dollar should stay firm. (Jinshi Data APP) Data: Next week, China will release China's May total retail sales of consumer goods YoY, China's May industrial value-added of enterprises above designated size YoY, China's May share of yuan in global payments via SWIFT, China's May total electricity consumption YoY (TBC), China's May total electricity consumption (TBC), and other data; the US will release the US Fed interest rate decision (upper bound) for the period to June 17, the US June Empire State manufacturing index, US May industrial production MoM, US June NAHB housing market index, ADP employment change for the week ended May 30, US May housing starts annualized total, US May building permits total, US May import price index MoM, US May retail sales MoM, US April business inventories MoM, US May pending home sales index MoM, US initial jobless claims for the week ended June 13, US June Philly Fed manufacturing index, US May Conference Board Leading Economic Index MoM, and other data; the UK will release UK May CPI MoM, UK May retail price index MoM, UK ILO unemployment rate for the three months to April, UK May unemployment rate, UK May jobless claims change, UK Bank of England interest rate decision for the period to June 18, UK June Gfk consumer confidence index, UK May seasonally adjusted retail sales MoM, and other data; the Eurozone will release Eurozone April seasonally adjusted trade balance, Eurozone April industrial production MoM, Eurozone June ZEW economic sentiment index, Eurozone May final CPI YoY, Eurozone May final CPI MoM, Eurozone April seasonally adjusted current account, and other data; Switzerland will release Switzerland May consumer confidence index, Switzerland May trade balance, Switzerland SNB policy rate for the period to June 18, and other data; Japan will release Japan BoJ target rate for the period to June 16, Japan May core CPI YoY, and other data; Canada will release Canada April wholesale sales MoM, Canada April retail sales MoM, and other data; Germany June ZEW economic sentiment index, Germany May PPI MoM, and Australia RBA interest rate decision for the period to June 16 will also be released. In addition, on June 15, China will see 218.5 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repos mature, along with 600 billion yuan of six-month outright reverse repos. The National Energy Administration releases nationwide electricity consumption data around the 15th of each month. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) publishes the monthly report on residential property prices in 70 large and medium-sized cities. The State Council Information Office will hold a press conference on national economic performance. The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) will hold a seminar to launch the High-Quality Token Service Capability Climbing Plan (TBD). China will also open a new round of fuel price adjustment windows. On June 18, the Fed’s FOMC will release its interest rate decision and summary of economic projections; Fed Chairman Warsh will hold a monetary policy press conference. ECB President Lagarde will deliver a speech. BOJ Deputy Governor Uchida Shinichi will hold a monetary policy press conference, and the BOJ will release its interest rate decision. RBA Governor Bullock will hold a monetary policy press conference. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) will release its interest rate decision, and the Bank of England (BOE) will release its interest rate decision and meeting minutes. The Group of Seven (G7) Summit opens and will run until June 17. Crude oil: Overnight, oil prices on both markets fell, with WTI down 3.9% and Brent down 3.96%. Expectations for a US-Iran peace agreement continued to heat up, putting oil prices under pressure and pulling them back. On a weekly basis, oil prices also fell, with WTI down 6.9% and Brent down 6.76%. In early US stock trading, according to CCTV, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the Islamabad memorandum of understanding was "closer than ever" to being reached, causing oil prices to tumble and US stock indices to extend their intraday gains. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Baghaei stated that the two sides had now reached an understanding on most issues, and that Iran was internally finalizing the text of the memorandum of understanding. During the US midday, CCTV reported that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said "the final agreed text of the peace agreement has been completed," and that the two countries were moving forward with implementing the next steps. Oil prices continued their decline. During US trading, stocks briefly dipped after Trump criticized Iran for leaking the terms of the deal, before Wall Street Insights noted that the UAE had reportedly agreed to unlock large-scale funds for Iran, with an initial tranche of roughly $3 billion already transferred, further boosting optimism about reaching an agreement. (Wall Street Insights) US Secretary of Energy Wright stated that about 7 million barrels of oil and fuel currently transit the Strait of Hormuz daily, roughly half the amount of cargo stranded at the onset of the Iran conflict. Wright said that currently no Iranian crude oil can be shipped out through the Strait of Hormuz. He added that if an agreement is reached, he expects all products to be able to pass freely through the Persian Gulf. Wright also noted that if no agreement is reached, the US military will resume transport along the route. Wright stated that the US will not impose an oil export ban to curb oil prices. (Jinshi Data APP) US Energy Secretary Wright said on Friday local time that US refiners can still absorb more Venezuelan crude oil. Wright stated that Venezuela currently sends about half of its total exports of 1.2 million barrels per day to the US, and that proportion could rise in the coming months. Wright also said that Iran is not currently exporting any oil or refined products. During the Middle East conflict, the US has actively filled the gap in oil exports. (Jinshi Data APP) Due to the most severe supply disruption on record caused by the Iran conflict, US emergency reserve crude oil exports have surged to an all-time high. Customs data compiled by Kpler Ltd. show that nearly 22 million barrels of crude oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) have been sold to markets outside China so far this year. This volume has already exceeded the previous high set four years ago. Although US emergency reserve crude oil exports are not uncommon, the large scale of this year's shipments shows that with the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz causing supply disruptions, global markets are increasingly relying on US supplies to tide them over. About one in every three barrels of crude oil flowing out of the emergency stockpile is exported. The volume heading overseas could be even higher, as the Trump administration is still releasing the full 172 million barrels of crude oil it committed to. This is part of a broader effort by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to help cushion the impact of the Iran war on global energy markets. (Wall Street CN)

SMM, June 12: This week, prices across the cobalt products complex continued their downward trend. Refined cobalt fell by 16,500 yuan/mt in a single week, while in the cobalt salt segment, spot quotes declined to varying degrees across the board except for cobalt sulphate, which held stable temporarily. Weak downstream demand was a key factor behind the relentless slide in prices for products along the cobalt industry chain... SMM has compiled this week's price changes for cobalt products as follows: : SMM spot price data showed that refined cobalt spot quotes moved lower this week. As of June 12, spot refined cobalt was quoted at 385,000-412,000 yuan/mt, with an average of 398,500 yuan/mt, down 16,500 yuan/mt from 415,000 yuan/mt on June 5, a decline of 3.98%. According to SMM, the price decline this week was driven by two main factors: first, during mid-week, ex-China price reporting platforms slashed the low-end price for cobalt intermediate products, weakening market sentiment and dragging down refined cobalt prices; second, this triggered forced stop-loss liquidation by some funds, further accelerating the magnitude of the pullback. From a supply-demand perspective, on the supply side, EXW prices from mainstream smelters held at 422,000 yuan/mt. After the rapid drop in refined cobalt prices, most traders suspended quoting, with only a small number of hedging traders selling limited cargoes at a slight premium to futures. On the demand side, the persistent downtrend suppressed downstream purchase willingness, with alloy and magnetic material enterprises mostly choosing to hold off on purchases and stay on the sidelines, in a "rush to buy amid continuous price rise and hold back amid price downturn" mentality. In the short term, the market is likely to remain in a volatile state under pressure; a stabilization in refined cobalt prices still depends on a return to stability in other cobalt products, particularly cobalt salts. For the raw material cobalt intermediate product, SMM spot price data showed that spot quotes for cobalt intermediate products edged down $0.1/lb this week to $24.9-25.5/lb, with an average of $25.2/lb, down 0.4% from June 5. On the supply side, quotes from mainstream miners and traders remained in the $25.5-26/lb range. Small volumes of lower-quality material changed hands at sub-$25/lb levels during the week, but the impact on mainstream prices was relatively limited given the significant quality discount and limited trading volume. In terms of shipments, the approval of Q1 2026 quotas continued to progress slowly due to complicated procedures. Coupled with tight local logistics in the DRC and the lower priority assigned to cobalt raw material shipments, the arrival of bulk cargoes at ports was further delayed, with current estimates pointing to a mass port arrival around August . In the short term, demand-side support remained weak, and prices may mainly move sideways. For the market to stabilize and strengthen going forward, it still depends on downstream demand recovery and the restoration of cobalt salt prices. Cobalt salt market ( and ): : According to SMM spot quotes, cobalt sulphate spot prices remained stable this week. As of June 12, cobalt sulphate spot quotes held steady at 88,000-92,000 yuan/mt, with an average of 90,000 yuan/mt, unchanged from June 5. In the spot market, according to SMM, the cobalt sulphate market atmosphere was sluggish this week, with the tug-of-war between upstream and downstream continuing and prices staying generally stable. On the supply side, mainstream smelters continued to hold prices firm, with the quotation range maintained at 88,000-92,000 yuan/mt. Some recycling smelters and traders, affected by cash flow pressures, lowered offers on small volumes of low-priced cargoes to 84,000-85,000 yuan/mt. On the demand side, the continued gradual price decline suppressed downstream purchase willingness, with some enterprises' target prices at only 81,000-82,000 yuan/mt, a large gap from sellers' offers that made actual transactions difficult. In the short term, cobalt sulphate prices are likely to remain in the doldrums, with market stabilization and recovery still awaiting the substantial release of concentrated downstream restocking demand. market: According to SMM spot quotes, cobalt chloride spot prices stabilized this week after falling 100 yuan/mt on June 11. As of June 12, cobalt chloride spot quotes ranged from 110,000 to 115,000 yuan/mt, with an average of 112,500 yuan/mt, a decline of 0.09% from June 5. In the spot market, according to SMM, the cobalt chloride market was overall sluggish this week. On the supply side, as the mid-year period approached, some enterprises continued to offer discounts to sell in response to performance and cash flow pressures, but downstream purchasing capacity was limited, and price cuts did not result in substantial volume increases. The market remained trapped in a passive volume discount situation. Top-tier players maintained their stance of holding prices firm, unwilling to sell at low prices, which provided bottom support for prices. On the demand side, end-user orders were weak, overall downstream stockpiling motivation was insufficient, and purchases remained wait-and-see. Overall, June cobalt chloride prices continued on a gradual weakening trend, with further downside in the short term. market: According to SMM spot quotes, the Co3O4 spot price fell by 1,500 yuan/mt on the last trading day of this week, to a range of 341,000-350,000 yuan/mt, with an average of 345,500 yuan/mt, a decline of 0.43% from 347,000 yuan/mt on June 5. Meanwhile, the Co3O4 spot market remained sluggish. From the supply-demand perspective, on the supply side, enterprises generally struggled to hold their offers, continuously selling at lower prices. However, driven by a mentality of “rush to buy amid continuous price rise and hold back amid price downturn,” successive price cuts intensified downstream wait-and-see sentiment, further suppressing purchase willingness. On the demand side, LCO producers still focused on customer-supplied materials and long-term contract deliveries, while spot demand continued to shrink, and the weak end-user market had begun to slow cargo pick-up under long-term contracts. In the short term, a market turnaround is unlikely, and against the backdrop of loosening cost support and inelastic demand, SMM expects the Co3O4 price center to continue shifting downward. In news, on corporate developments, according to Webstock Inc., on Thursday, June 11, Madagascar’s Ambatovy Mining announced that it had restarted production following a cyclone disaster in February and plans to produce 2,500 mt of nickel in June. Ambatovy added that cobalt production this month is expected to be around 250 mt. It is reported that the Ambatovy mine produces nickel briquettes and cobalt briquettes. In 2025, the mine’s nickel production was approximately 29,000 mt, and cobalt production about 2,700 mt. Tengyuan Cobalt, when responding to investor inquiries in early June, mentioned that as of the end of Q1 2026, the company already had 60,000 mt of copper product capacity and 31,500 mt in metal content of cobalt product capacity. GEM, during an investor survey on June 10, was asked “whether there is any quality difference between critical metals such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium extracted through the recycling system and those from virgin ore.” In response, GEM stated that after deep purification, the purity and performance indicators of critical metals such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium are fully consistent with the requirements of battery material production, and there is no quality difference. At the same time, the metal enrichment degree (grade) in “urban mines” such as power batteries is usually higher than that in natural mines, offering significant advantages in resource value and utilization efficiency. It is worth noting that at the , SMM Vice President Wang Cong mentioned when discussing cobalt resources that for the past several years, the DRC had always been the core supplier of global cobalt resources, but since last year's policy adjustments, Indonesia's share of cobalt production has increased significantly. Looking ahead over the next decade, the market share of cobalt contained in Indonesian MHP is expected to continue expanding, and the global cobalt supply landscape is evolving from a single-center structure centered on the DRC to a dual-center structure with both the DRC and Indonesia.

1. Procurement Conditions The procurement project for Chaoyang Externally Purchased Metallurgical Coke and Other Items in June 2026 (AGCYGTHHD260611295981) is procured by Ansteel Group Chaoyang Steel Co., Ltd., with self-raised funds. The project has met the procurement conditions and is now open for an open single-round negotiation. 2. Project Overview and Procurement Scope 2.1 Project name: Chaoyang Externally Purchased Metallurgical Coke and Other Items in June 2026 2.2 If the procurement fails, it will be changed to another procurement method: direct procurement 2.3 For the procurement content, scope, and scale, see the attached Material List.pdf. 3. Bidder Qualification Requirements 3.1 Joint bidding is not allowed for this procurement. 3.2 Bidders for this procurement must meet the following qualification requirements: See attachment (if necessary) 3.3 Bidders for this procurement must meet the following registered capital requirements: Production-type registered capital: 20.0 million yuan or above Distribution-type registered capital: 20.0 million yuan or above 3.4 Bidders for this procurement must meet the following performance requirements: Not required. 3.5 Bidders for this procurement must meet the following capability requirements, financial requirements, and other requirements: Financial requirements: See attachment. Capability requirements: See attachment. Other requirements: See attachment. 3.6 For projects that are legally required to be tendered, bids from dishonest persons subject to enforcement are invalid. 4. Obtaining Procurement Documents 4.1 All prospective bidders may log in to the Ansteel Smart Bidding Platform http://bid.ansteel.cn to download the electronic procurement documents from 16:00 on June 11, 2026 to 08:00 on June 18, 2026 (Beijing time, the same hereinafter). Click to view the tender details: