[Guangdong: Prices Consolidate at Highs, Downstream Just-in-Time Procurement]Guangdong 0# zinc traded mainly at 24,650~24,720 yuan/mt, major brand quotations against the 2609 contract were -120~-70 yuan/mt, at a discount of 55 yuan/mt against Shanghai spot, and the Shanghai-Guangdong price spread was flat...

[Tianjin Zinc: Weak Operating Rates in the North, Poor Zinc Ingot Demand] In the Tianjin market, #0 zinc ingot mainstream transactions were at 24,620-24,790 yuan/mt, Zijin traded at 24,760-24,870 yuan/mt, #1 zinc ingot traded at around 24,620-24,730 yuan/mt. Zijin was quoted at a premium of 20-30 yuan/mt against the 2608 contract, Huzinc was quoted at 26,015 yuan/mt, #0 zinc ingot was quoted at a discount of 60-120 yuan/mt against the 2608 contract, and Tianjin was quoted at a discount of around 95 yuan/mt against Shanghai.

SMM July 27 News: Metal Market: At the midday break, domestic base metals were mixed. SHFE copper rose 0.31%, while SHFE aluminum edged lower. SHFE lead fell 1.11%. SHFE zinc rose 0.3%. SHFE tin rose 1.86%. SHFE nickel fell 0.42%. In addition, the most-traded cast aluminum futures contract fell 0.13%, while the most-traded alumina contract rose 0.19%. Lithium carbonate’s most-traded contract rose 0.86%. Silicon metal’s most-traded contract rose 0.24%. Polysilicon’s most-traded futures contract rose 0.15%. Ferrous metals mostly rose. Iron ore rose 0.27%, rebar rose 0.33%, and HRC rose 0.55%. Stainless steel fell 0.34%. For coking coal and coke: the most-traded coking coal contract fell 0.62%, and the most-traded coke contract rose 0.87%. In overseas base metals, as of 11:40, LME metals showed mixed performance. LME copper rose 0.49%, while LME aluminum fell 0.27%. LME tin and LME zinc each rose within 0.5%. LME lead edged lower. LME nickel fell 0.32%. In precious metals, as of 11:40, COMEX gold rose 0.42% and COMEX silver rose 1.1%. In the domestic market: SHFE gold rose 0.87%; the most-traded SHFE silver contract rose 2.97%. In addition, at the midday break, the most-traded platinum futures contract rose 2.31%, and the most-traded palladium futures contract rose 2.22%. At the midday break, the most-traded container shipping (European route) futures contract fell 3.02% to 2,750 points. Selected futures midday prices as of 11:40, July 27: Spot and Fundamentals Silver: Trump suspended airstrikes on Iran, cooling geopolitical tensions temporarily; oil prices tumbled, and inflation and rate-hike expectations eased, while precious metals rebounded. The spot market sustained parity deals, with the weak supply-demand pattern persisting. …… 》Click for details Macro Front China: [ NBS: Profits of China's Industrial Enterprises Above Designated Size Rose 18.7% in 1H; Electronics-Related Sectors Posted Rapid Profit Growth ] On July 27, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released data showing that in H1, amid steady manufacturing growth and a continued rebound in industrial product prices, revenue of industrial enterprises above designated size rose 6.5% YoY, an acceleration of 1.5 percentage points from Q1. Accelerating revenue growth drove profits of industrial enterprises above designated size up 18.7% YoY, accelerating 3.2 percentage points from Q1. By major sector, mining and manufacturing profits grew 33.5% and 20.1%, respectively, accelerating 17.3 and 1.0 percentage points from Q1; electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply fell 4.2%. In June, profits of industrial enterprises above designated size rose 15.1% YoY. In H1, profits of the raw material manufacturing sector above designated size rose 71.7% YoY, boosting overall profit growth of industrial enterprises above designated size by 8.8 percentage points. From an industry perspective, driven by improving demand for non-ferrous metal products such as copper and aluminum, profits of the non-ferrous metals sector rose 99.4%, boosting overall profit growth by 4.7 percentage points; driven by higher prices of products in the petroleum industry chain, the petroleum processing sector swung from losses to a profit YoY, and profits of the chemical sector rose 67.8%. The PBOC conducted 325.5 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repo operations today at an interest rate of 1.40%. A total of 398.5 billion yuan of reverse repos and 400 billion yuan of MLF matured today. US Dollar: As of 11:40, the US dollar index fell 0.26 to 101.22. The market widely expects the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged this week. According to CME FedWatch: the probability of the Fed keeping rates unchanged in July is 63.7%, while the probability of a cumulative 25bp rate hike is 36.3%. The probability of unchanged rates through September is 19.6%, a cumulative 25bp hike is 55.2%, and a cumulative 50bp hike is 25.2%. Data: Today will see the release of data including Germany's July IFO Business Climate Index, the UK's July CBI Distributive Trades Survey balance, the US June durable goods orders MoM, and the US July Dallas Fed New Orders Index. Crude Oil: As of 11:40, oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic fell sharply, with WTI down 4.97% and Brent down 3.93%. US-Iran geopolitical tensions eased slightly, and oil prices fell sharply at the open on Monday as traders assessed Middle East supply risks. With the US-Iran conflict spreading from the Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, Brent crude has surged about 30% this month, briefly breaking above $100 per barrel last week. The conflict, now nearing the end of its fifth month, has heightened concerns about a global inflation shock as the global fuel market has lost idle capacity while the war drives up prices, and refined product prices have jumped. (Jin10 Data APP) Spot Market Roundup: ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ►

[Guangdong: Price Center Moves Higher, Spot Transactions Sluggish] Guangdong 0# zinc was mainly traded at 24,720~24,765 yuan/mt, mainstream brand quotations against the 2609 contract were -120~-70 yuan/mt, and at a discount of 55 yuan/mt against Shanghai spot. The Shanghai-Guangdong price spread widened...

[Ningbo Zinc: Downstream Largely on the Sidelines, Overall Spot Trades Sluggish] Transaction prices of mainstream brand 0# zinc in Ningbo were around 24,760-24,860 yuan/mt. Regular brands in Ningbo were quoted at a premium of 20 yuan/mt against the 2608 contract and at a premium of 15 yuan/mt against Shanghai spot cargoes. Quotations in Ningbo were mainly against the 2608 contract...

SMM July 24 News: Metal Market: As of midday, domestic base metals fell broadly. SHFE copper fell 1.21%, SHFE aluminum and SHFE zinc both fell within 0.5%. SHFE lead fell 0.82%. SHFE tin fell 1.59%. SHFE nickel rose 0.2%. Additionally, casting aluminum most-traded futures fell 0.58%, alumina most-traded rose 0.37%. Lithium carbonate most-traded fell 0.74%. Silicon metal most-traded edged down. Polysilicon most-traded futures fell 1.67%. Ferrous metals mostly fell. Iron ore fell 0.8%, rebar fell 0.68%, HRC fell 0.3%. Stainless steel fell 0.91%. Coking coal and coke: coking coal most-traded contract was flat at 1,282 yuan/mt, coke most-traded contract edged up 0.05%. Overseas base metals, as of 11:40, LME metals fell across the board. LME copper rose 0.43%, LME aluminum, LME tin, and LME nickel all fell within 0.5%. LME lead was flat at $1,887/mt. Precious metals, as of 11:40, COMEX gold fell 0.44%, COMEX silver fell 0.88%. Domestic precious metals: SHFE gold fell 2.65%; SHFE silver most-traded fell 4.82%. Additionally, as of midday, platinum most-traded futures fell 4.94%, palladium most-traded futures fell 5.68%. As of midday, the most-traded Europe container shipping futures fell 1.65% to 2,807.5 points. As of 11:40 on July 24, some futures midday quotes: Spot and fundamentals Copper: Today, Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot against the front-month contract: high-quality copper quoted at 190 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper quoted at a premium of 140 yuan/mt, flat from the previous trading day; SX-EW copper quoted at a premium of 80 yuan/mt, flat from the previous trading day. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 105,085 yuan/mt, down 1,215 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; the average price of SX-EW copper was 105,000 yuan/mt, down 1,210 yuan/mt from the previous trading day... Macro front Domestic side: [State Grid's fixed-asset investment in H1 up 12.6% YoY] Today, we learned from State Grid Corporation of China that in H1, State Grid completed fixed-asset investment of over 310 billion yuan, up 12.6% YoY. Among them, construction of 15 ultra-high-voltage (UHV) projects and 37 pumped-storage power stations is accelerating. Meanwhile, investment in new energy grid connection projects continues to increase. As of end-June, the new energy grid-connected installed capacity in State Grid's operating area reached 1.55 billion kW. (CCTV) [PBOC net withdrawal of 361.5 billion yuan from the open market today] The PBOC conducted 89 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repo operations today at an interest rate of 1.40%. A total of 450.5 billion yuan of reverse repos matured today. On the dollar front: As of 11:40, the US dollar index fell 0.02 to 101.42. As the threat of escalating war in Iran drove up oil prices, US Treasury yields rose to their highest levels of the year, and markets expected the Fed could raise rates as soon as next week. The two-year Treasury yield, most sensitive to Fed policy expectations, rose about 4 basis points on Thursday to around 4.34%, its highest since early 2025. The 10-year Treasury yield hit a year-to-date high, while the 30-year yield rose to 5.19%, just below its highest level since 2007. As Houthi rebels claimed to have attacked a commercial vessel for the first time in months, Brent crude oil has been slowly rebounding toward $100 per barrel. This rise continues to pressure the US Treasury market and has led traders to increasingly believe that the Fed under Warsh will raise rates soon this year. (Jinshi Data APP) According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability that the Fed keeps rates unchanged in July is 65.3%, while the cumulative probability of a 25bp hike is 34.7%. For September, the probability of rates remaining unchanged is 17.6%, the cumulative probability of a 25bp hike is 57%, and the cumulative probability of a 50bp hike is 25.4%. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims in the US fell sharply last week, indicating that the labour market remains stable and that Fed officials need to continue focusing on curbing inflation. The US Labor Department said on Thursday that initial claims for the week ending July 18 fell by 22,000 to 187,000, compared with expectations of 212,000. Thursday's report was the latest signal of sustained stability in the labour market. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 4.2% in June, a one-year low, but the decline was more due to a shrinking labour force rather than job growth. The US labour market is exhibiting an unusual balance: limited labour supply, slow job creation, and limited layoffs have kept the unemployment rate at historically low levels. This situation has led a growing number of Fed policymakers to focus more on inflation, which remains well above the 2% target, rather than express greater concern about the strong labour market. (Jinshi Data APP) Data wise: Today’s data releases include Germany's August GfK Consumer Confidence Index, UK June seasonally adjusted retail sales m/m, France July Flash Manufacturing PMI, Germany July Flash Manufacturing PMI, Eurozone July Flash Manufacturing PMI, UK July Flash Manufacturing PMI, UK July Flash Services PMI, US July S&P Global Flash Manufacturing PMI, US July S&P Global Flash Services PMI, and US June New Home Sales Annualized Total. Also worth watching: the AMD Advancing AI conference was held in San Francisco on July 22-23; Intel’s Q2 earnings were released after the US stock market close on July 23. Crude oil: As of 11:40, oil prices in both markets moved sideways, with WTI up 0.01% and Brent down 0.07%. The US-Iran geopolitical conflict continued to intensify. The Houthis announced this week that they had attacked a Saudi oil tanker, formally turning the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea into a new frontline of conflict, putting global oil supply into a “dual chokepoint” predicament. Market analysts warned that if the Strait of Hormuz remained obstructed and a blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait became reality, oil prices risked further surging to $120 or even higher. Rapidan Energy Group President and former White House official Bob McNally said, “The scale of the second round of military conflict will exceed the first, posing enormous risks to shipping and energy infrastructure.” (Wallstreetcn) ANZ: It maintained its forecast of $92/barrel for Brent crude at end-Q3 2026, reflecting an uneven rebound in Persian Gulf oil flows. If regional supply disruptions intensify and market buffers weaken, Brent crude prices could rise to $120/barrel. (Jinshi Data APP) Spot Market Overview: ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ►