[SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: US ADP Employment Data Falls Short of Expectations, LME Zinc Center Moves Lower] Overnight, LME zinc opened at $3,636/mt. At the beginning of the session, LME zinc fluctuated around the daily average line. As the European trading session began, bulls increased their open interest, and LME zinc oscillated higher to touch $3,658/mt. Prices at night session continued to pull back, dipping to $3,593/mt. Toward the end of the session, prices stopped falling and rebounded, slightly recovering lost ground, ultimately closing lower at $3,603/mt, down $27.5/mt, a decline of 0.76%. Trading volume decreased to 88,462 lots, and open interest increased by 3,764 lots to 231,000 lots.

June 3, 2026 A historic milestone in the structure of the global financial system: By the end of 2025, gold had overtaken U.S. Treasury bonds as the largest component of global reserve assets. With a share now of around 27 percent—up from 20 percent at the end of 2024—the precious metal has clearly left the U.S. securities, which slipped from 25 to 22 percent, far behind. This shift is more than just a footnote. It is the result of an unprecedented price rally, sustained central bank purchases, and a profound geopolitical realignment. Valuation Effects vs. Physical Demand Gold’s rapid rise to the top is largely driven by price movements. Nominal gains of around 60 percent in 2025 and about 30 percent in 2024 have catapulted the precious metal’s weighting on balance sheets. If we adjust for this extreme price effect and use the prices from late 2023 as a basis, the picture becomes more nuanced: In this scenario, U.S. Treasury bonds continue to dominate significantly with 26 percent, while gold and the euro are tied at 16 percent each. Nevertheless, behind the pure valuation effects lies a solid, physical foundation. Geopolitics dictates purchases Central banks remain the driving force in the physical market. Although their demand recently fell slightly to 863 tons—just below the 1,000-ton mark of the previous three years—the official sector’s appetite remains unquenched. Notably, the largest purchases come from regions that are specifically arming themselves against external conflict risks. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, certain players have dominated the field: China increased its reserves by more than 350 tons. It was followed by Poland (320 tons), Turkey (220 tons), and India (130 tons). In 2025 alone, Poland once again secured the top spot as the largest buyer with around 100 tons, followed by Kazakhstan, Brazil, China, and Turkey. The motives behind this massive accumulation are structural in nature. Nitesh Shah, chief commodities analyst at WisdomTree, points out that the freezing of Russian central bank assets has set a precedent. The politicization of the U.S. dollar and other G7 currencies offers a massive incentive for many countries to reduce their dependence on these currency areas. Another crucial factor: spiraling government debt. Unlike bonds or fiat currencies , physical gold carries no counterparty risk—it is simply not the liability of another debtor. Structural Limits of Gold Reserves Despite this momentum, the sky is not the limit for gold. At the monetary policy level, the precious metal faces structural hurdles as an official reserve asset compared to major fiat currencies. It is price-volatile, yields no current interest income, and incurs storage costs. The most significant difference from bond markets, however, lies in the lack of elasticity: the physical supply of gold is inherently limited and cannot be expanded at will to respond to short-term shifts in international liquidity. Gold Outlook This paints a complex but extremely solid picture for the gold market. Even though demand has slowed somewhat since the start of the year, the World Gold Council expects central bank purchases of around 850 tons for the current year. Regardless of shifts driven purely by valuation, the precious metal has impressively reinforced its role as an indispensable monetary asset in a world marked by tensions and debt crises. With a share now of around 27 percent—up from 20 percent at the end of 2024—the precious metal has clearly left U.S. securities behind, which slipped from 25 to 22 percent. This shift is more than just a footnote. It is the result of an unprecedented price rally, sustained central bank purchases, and a profound geopolitical realignment. Source： https://goldinvest.de/en/major-shift-in-the-financial-system-gold-overtakes-u-s-treasury-bonds-in-global-reserves

May 31, 2026 Over the past two weeks, the price of gold has failed to recover further. Instead, its failure to break through the falling 50-day moving average increased downward pressure, causing gold to be pushed back down to $4,366 this morning—and thus to the 200-day moving average—amid the resurgent Iran crisis. Silver presents a similar picture; here, even lower price targets are in play. Overall, precious metals have been in a healthy but treacherous and confusing correction since the end of January, one that is likely not yet over. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East remains the dominant and highly unpredictable risk factor for commodity and financial markets . A sustainable solution does not appear to be in sight. Rather, physical oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remain well below pre-crisis levels. Europe’s reserves have so far cushioned the supply bottlenecks but are now nearing depletion. As long as the logistical bottlenecks remain unresolved, volatility will stay high. In addition, the vulnerability of financial markets is increasing. Short-term signs of peace can abruptly push oil prices down, while setbacks or military escalations drive them back up just as quickly—an environment in which precious metals are also suffering. On the macro side, however, the dilemma for risk assets is intensifying, particularly for the heavily overbought stock markets. The recent price increases caused by rising energy prices heighten the risk of accelerating inflation, meaning central banks could be forced to raise interest rates and tighten monetary policy. Whether the central banks can actually implement this at all, given the complex and fragile starting point, remains questionable, however. However, the mere expectation of higher real interest rates could put further pressure on the gold price, even if this interest rate trend ultimately fails to materialize. At the same time, rising energy prices are supporting the inflation outlook and, in the long term, the demand for inflation-protected assets . China continues to shift into gold Chinese holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds, as of May 25, 2026. © Bloomberg At the same time, China’s holdings of U.S. Treasuries have fallen to their lowest level since 2008, while official gold reserves continue to rise. China is thus consistently shifting assets from dollars to gold. However, the decline in Treasury holdings is also, to some extent, a matter of accounting. A significant portion of China’s reserves was apparently held through custodians such as Belgium or transferred to the balance sheets of state-owned banks. Economically, the exposure to U.S. Treasury bonds thus remains, even if it no longer appears directly under China’s name in official statistics. The composition has therefore changed more significantly than the actual risk. What is changing, however, is the nature of sovereign risk management. Like other strategically minded nations, China is gradually reducing its vulnerability to assets carrying political counterparty risk. While U.S. Treasuries are liquid and deeply traded, they ultimately remain claims within a Western-dominated financial system. Under extreme conditions, they can be frozen or subject to sanctions. Gold, on the other hand, has no issuer, no counterparty risk, no digital barriers to access, and has been money for millennia. The Chinese are not seeking an abrupt exit from the Western financial system, but rather a reduction in dependence and greater freedom of action. Nevertheless, the price of gold has been in a correction since the end of January, which, in our view, is more than justified and, above all, healthy following the spectacular gains of the past three and a half years. Semiconductor Boom vs. Dot-Com Bubble, May 27, 2026. © The Great Martis The only real cause for concern is that stock markets have recently surged into parabolic price movements amid a very fragile, geopolitically strained environment. The AI rally has driven semiconductor stocks in particular into completely overvalued territory: The semiconductor sector is currently more overbought than it has been in twenty years. NVIDIA is trading at a trailing P/E ratio of around 33 and has posted a 44% gain in the last two months alone. Micron Technology has seen its share price rise by 1,450% over the past 14 months! Margin levels (i.e., speculative trading on credit) stand at approximately $1.3 trillion (5.2% of GDP), exceeding the peak levels of 2008 and the dot-com era. Should a reversal and correction occur here, precious metals are likely to be dragged down with them in a temporary liquidity crunch. That is why we would like to mention our worst-case scenario of $3,500 for the gold price once again at this point. Gold – Our price target “200-day line” was reached today Gold in US dollars, daily chart as of May 28, 2026. © GOLD.DE As suspected, the falling 50-day line ($4,628) has stopped the gold price twice on its way up over the past six weeks. In light of this difficult-to-overcome and psychologically burdensome barrier, a new, sharp downward wave began on May 12, which today reached our repeatedly mentioned price target in the form of the 200-day line ($4,392). This means that, in our view, the bulk of the correction potential for the gold price has been exhausted for now. We had consistently emphasized that the first support level at the 200-day moving average of $4,100 from March 23 did not constitute a sufficiently solid foundation. However, the problem is that the silver price has not yet reached its 200-day moving average (US$66.56) during the correction that has been underway since late January, and no real panic has yet been observed in the precious metals sector. Despite the already oversold conditions in the gold market, we would therefore not be surprised to see the correction continue down to the lower Bollinger Band on the weekly chart ($4,289). Overall, the price action reflects a typical spring correction. We already see buying opportunities again between $4,250 and $4,400. We initially expect a bottom to form in this range, which should then lay the foundation for a foreseeable recovery and the summer rally. Conclusion: Gold – Correction Continues, Buying Opportunities Ahead Gold and silver have been undergoing a healthy but not yet complete correction since late January: Gold failed twice at the falling 50-day moving average and has now fallen back to its 200-day moving average. Silver, on the other hand, still faces significantly more downside risk, as the 200-day moving average has not yet been tested at all. Although a test of the lower weekly Bollinger Bands around $4,280 on the gold market would therefore not be surprising, we already see attractive entry prices between $4,250 and $4,400. However, macroeconomic and geopolitical risks remain high and are increasing volatility in the short term: The Iran crisis and the ongoing bottlenecks through the Strait of Hormuz continue to weigh on commodity and energy markets and weaken Europe’s security of supply. In the long term, however, China’s shift from U.S. Treasuries to gold supports demand for precious metals. Only a broad-based sell-off in the heavily overbought stock markets—driven by high margin leverage and an overheated semiconductor/AI rally—could also put gold under significant short-term pressure in the event of a liquidity crunch; our worst-case scenario therefore remains $3,500. Source： https://goldinvest.de/en/gold-correction-continues-buying-opportunities-are-emerging

Platinum prices rebounded slightly today. Macro front, central banks in multiple countries shifted toward hawkish policies, and the US April PCE price index annual rate rose significantly. As of 10:15 this morning, GFEX PT2606 closed at 467.55 yuan/gram in the morning session, up 1.16%, while the most-traded contract PT2608 closed at 473.55 yuan/gram, up 1.55%. The inverted price spread between the SGE Platinum 9995 best offer price and GFEX PT2606 remained around 15 yuan/gram. Spot market, warrant-based spot cargo suppliers generally quoted at relatively high levels, with mainstream quotations at a discount of 4 yuan/gram to parity against the PT2608 contract. Absolute prices were on the high side, and some suppliers reported that registered warrants were currently siphoning a large volume of spot cargo, leading to a premium on spot prices in the market. Transaction side, according to SMM, downstream enterprises maintained just-in-time procurement, while trading firms engaging in both spot and futures market actively inquired about platinum and palladium warrants due to current price spread opportunities between futures contracts. Overall, the platinum spot market was relatively active today.

[SMM Daily Review: Silver Prices Fluctuated with Narrowing Spot Discounts, Market Awaited Next Month's Consumption Guidance] SMM reported on May 29 that silver prices rebounded slightly, spot discounts narrowed, supply and demand were evolving toward a tight balance, month-end trading was sluggish, and attention turned to next month's consumption performance.

SMM May 28: Metals market: As of the midday close, domestic base metals fell across the board. SHFE copper dropped 1%, SHFE aluminum fell 1.08%, SHFE lead declined 0.99%, SHFE zinc lost 0.54%, SHFE tin slid 1.05%, and SHFE nickel fell 1.07%. In addition, the most-traded foundry aluminum futures fell 0.82%, while the most-traded alumina contract rose 0.14%. The most-traded lithium carbonate contract gained 0.27%. The most-traded silicon metal contract dropped 0.64%. The most-traded polysilicon futures fell 0.9%. Ferrous metals mostly rose. Iron ore edged up, rebar and hot-rolled coil each gained less than 0.5%, and stainless steel fell 0.5%. Coking coal and coke: the most-traded coking coal contract rose 2.09%, and the most-traded coke contract gained 2.44%. Overseas base metals, as of 11:39, LME metals fell nearly across the board. LME copper dropped 0.2%. LME aluminum and LME lead both fell 0.15%. LME zinc was flat at $3,507.5/mt. LME tin declined 0.55%. LME nickel lost 0.45%. Precious metals, as of 11:39, COMEX gold fell 1.47% and COMEX silver dropped 2.6%. Domestic precious metals: the most-traded SHFE gold contract fell 2.75%, and the most-traded SHFE silver contract dropped 4.97%. In addition, as of the midday close, the most-traded platinum futures fell 3.78%, and the most-traded palladium futures declined 3.75%. As of the midday close, the most-traded Europe containerized freight index contract rose 1.22% to 2,995.5 points. As of 11:39 on May 28, midday futures quotes for selected contracts: Spot Prices and Fundamentals Copper: Today in Guangdong, #1 copper cathode spot prices against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 120 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 50 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; SX-EW copper was quoted at a discount of 20 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 103,695 yuan/mt, down 1,395 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, and the average price of SX-EW copper was 103,590 yuan/mt, down 1,395 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot market: Guangdong inventory increased again, mainly driven by rising arrivals and weakening consumption... Macro Front China: [CSRC Vice Chairman Liu Haoling: Foreign investors' willingness to allocate to China's quality assets continues to rise] On May 28, the 2026 Global Investor Conference hosted by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange was held in Shenzhen. CSRC Vice Chairman Liu Haoling stated in his address that China's capital market reforms integrating investment and financing had progressed steadily and continued to deliver results, overall market valuations were within a reasonable range, and foreign investors' willingness to allocate to China's quality assets continued to rise. In his address, Liu Haolin stated that China is a major contributor to and stabilizing anchor for global economic growth, and a fertile ground for foreign enterprises to invest and do business. Since the beginning of this year, foreign capital has been flowing steadily into China's stock market through various channels. As of now, various overseas investors hold over 4 trillion yuan in A-share tradable market capitalization, making them important participants in China's capital market. (Wallstreetcn) PBOC conducted 101.3 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repo operations in the open market, with the operation rate at 1.40%, unchanged from the previous day. Today, 100 billion yuan of reverse repos matured. US dollar: As of 11:39, the US dollar index rose 0.25% to 99.48. Persistently high energy prices intensified market concerns about a resurgence in inflation. Chicago Fed President Goolsbee on Thursday further reinforced his warning: rising market expectations for AI's potential to boost productivity could push up inflation and force the US Fed and other central banks to raise interest rates. Goolsbee said: "The more hype there is about future productivity, the higher rates may need to go to prevent the economy from overheating. More importantly, facing supply shocks in the short term—whether from oil prices, supply chain disruptions, or other factors—makes the problem even worse." The above remarks further expanded on the views Goolsbee first publicly raised earlier this month. He questioned the notion that AI could suppress inflation and thereby create room for central banks to cut interest rates—a view championed by many officials in the Trump administration as well as new US Fed Chair Warsh. In the 1990s, as computers became more widely adopted, US productivity rose unexpectedly, driving rapid economic growth without triggering inflation. However, Goolsbee argued that if productivity gains are anticipated by the market, the situation would be different. Markets could trigger a spending boom in advance, pushing up prices before actual productivity gains materialize. US Fed Vice Chair Jefferson said he expected inflation to cool later this year as the effects of tariffs and rising energy costs fade, but he warned that inflation risks remain tilted to the upside. In remarks prepared for delivery at a Bank of Japan-hosted conference in Tokyo on Thursday morning, Jefferson said he is watching for signs that rising energy costs from the Iran war are weighing on consumer spending. He also warned that he continued to see signs of weakness in the labour market. Jefferson reiterated his view that the central bank's current policy stance was well positioned to respond to any developments. Jefferson stated, "I am not prejudging the next meeting and look forward to engaging with my colleagues on the best policy to achieve our dual mandate goals." (Jin10 Data) Other currencies: The Bank of Korea's six-month dot plot showed that among 21 dots, 7 were at 2.75%, 10 at 3%, 2 at 3.25%, and 2 at 2.5%. (From Wallstreetcn APP) Data: Data to be released today include the eurozone May industrial confidence index, eurozone May economic sentiment index, Canada Q1 current account, US initial jobless claims for the week ending May 23, US April core PCE price index YoY, US April personal spending MoM, US Q1 real GDP annualized QoQ revised, US April core PCE price index MoM, and US April durable goods orders MoM. In addition, attention should be paid to: the ECB publishing the minutes of its April monetary policy meeting; permanent FOMC voter and New York Fed President Williams delivering a keynote speech at a conference co-organized by the Central Bank of Iceland; 2028 FOMC voter and St. Louis Fed President Musalem delivering a speech. Crude oil: As of 11:39, both benchmarks rose, with WTI up 3.1% and Brent up 3.07%. US-Iran tensions escalated again, driving crude oil higher. US President Trump expressed dissatisfaction with negotiations with Iran, and the White House subsequently denied Iranian media reports of progress in peace talks, quickly dampening earlier market optimism about a ceasefire agreement. The US-Iran conflict entered its fourth month, with ceasefire prospects remaining uncertain. According to Xinhua News Agency, US President Trump said at a cabinet meeting at the White House on the 27th that the US and Iran had not yet reached a deal and the US was "dissatisfied" with this, fully rejecting the potential mechanism for joint US-Iran-Oman management of the Strait of Hormuz. (Wallstreetcn) The American Petroleum Institute (API) released data showing that US crude oil and gasoline inventories both declined last week. US API crude oil inventory for the week ending May 22 was -2.819 million barrels, versus expectations of -4.367 million barrels and a prior value of -9.11 million barrels. US API gasoline inventory for the week ending May 22 was -3.199 million barrels, versus expectations of -2.896 million barrels and a prior value of -5.795 million barrels. (Jin10 Data APP) Spot market overview: ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ►