[SMM Daily Review: PPI Cools More Than Expected but Silver Prices Lack Momentum for Rebound, with Rate Hike Expectations and Geopolitical Risks Continuing to Weigh] SMM, July 16 - US June PPI cooled more than expected, but US Fed officials maintained a hawkish tone. Compounded by escalating geopolitical conflicts, rate hike expectations persisted, and silver prices lacked momentum for a rebound. The spot market saw weak supply and demand, with premiums continuing to decline.

[SMM Daily Review: US CPI Cools More Than Expected, Silver Prices Rebounded Technically] SMM, July 15 – US June CPI turned negative MoM, pushing back expectations for rate hikes and allowing silver prices to rebound. Spot cargo demand was soft, and the transaction center leaned toward the lower end.

[SMM Daily Review: US-Iran Talks May Resume, Silver Price Undergoes Minor Recovery] SMM, July 10 - The prospect of US-Iran negotiations resuming and a pullback in the US dollar led to a technical recovery in precious metals. In the spot market, premiums continued to edge lower, with transactions near parity and demand remaining sluggish.

[SMM Silver Weekly Review: Silver Drops Over 6% This Week Amid Macro Pressure and Geopolitical Shocks] Silver prices rose and then fell this week, dropping approximately 6.34% for the week, with a trading range of 14,194-15,220 yuan/kg. A weak nonfarm payrolls figure initially boosted prices, but escalating US-Iran tensions and a hawkish Fed minutes later in the week formed a dual drag, triggering sharp pullbacks for three consecutive sessions. Spot premiums weakened alongside the retreat in silver prices, with both supply and demand staying weak and trading activity subdued. In the near term, attention turns to US CPI data and geopolitical developments, while over the medium-to-long term, central bank gold purchases continue to provide underlying support.

Platinum prices were in the doldrums today. On the macro front, the release of the US Fed minutes was interpreted as hawkish by the market. Combined with repeated US-Iran tensions during the week, this pushed up oil prices while increasing concerns about Fed interest rate hikes. In the morning session, the most-traded GFEX platinum contract PT2608 closed at 394.95 yuan/g, down 2.46%. The inverted spread between the best ask price of platinum 9995 on the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) and GFEX PT2608 remained at around 6 yuan/g. Spot market, mainstream platinum quotations were at a discount of 0.5 yuan/g to a premium of 1 yuan/g against the PT2608 contract. The discount in mainstream quotations narrowed slightly compared to the previous trading day. Suppliers' quotations were mainly on par with or at a slight premium to the most-traded GFEX contract. Downstream buyers made just-in-time procurement as futures prices declined. Overall transactions in the platinum spot market were normal today.

Platinum prices continued to consolidate today. On the macro front, geopolitical concerns resurfaced as the US launched a new round of airstrikes against Iran and frequent vessel attacks in the Strait of Hormuz further jeopardized the peace agreement between the two sides, driving up oil prices and adding to concerns over further US Fed rate hikes. In early trading, the most-traded GFEX platinum contract PT2608 closed at 404.35 yuan/g, edging up 0.33%. The discount of the best ask price for Pt9995 on the Shanghai Gold Exchange against the GFEX PT2608 contract widened to around 6 yuan/g. In the spot market, mainstream platinum quotations were at a discount of 1 yuan/g to parity against the PT2608 contract, with the discount level basically flat from the previous trading day. Downstream consumption was weak and wait-and-see sentiment was prevalent, making transactions at the higher end of the quoted range difficult. Overall, spot platinum trading remained sluggish on the day.