In June, global scrap tungsten markets diverged. India followed China's tungsten price rally, with active trading and higher prices in mid-June before cooling as China softened. Europe saw low-level consolidation due to high speculative inventories, but prices began to edge up in late June as stocks cleared. China's tungsten market experienced a sharp rebound followed by a pullback, and is expected to consolidate in the near term, while medium-to-long-term fundamentals remain solid.

[Producers Slightly Hold Prices Firm, Weak Demand Drags Magnesium Prices to Consolidate] Today, the quotation for 99.90% magnesium ingot in the main producing area was 15,700-15,800 yuan/mt, down 50 yuan/mt from the previous working day.

[Resumption recovery, operating rates of galvanising producers rise]: This week's operating rate of galvanising producers was 54.56%, up 3.03 percentage points WoW. Raw material side, zinc prices rebounded this week. Downstream players primarily stayed on the sidelines, mainly picking up previously priced zinc ingots, while zinc ingot inventories at galvanising enterprises edged up. The operating rate rebound was mainly because some galvanising plants were closed for the Dragon Boat Festival last week, causing a sharp decline in operations, while this week they all resumed normal production, pushing the rate back up.

SMM Cobalt Morning Meeting Minutes: This week, the cobalt industry chain overall stopped falling and stabilized. Spot refined cobalt prices rebounded slightly, boosted by policy news from the DRC, and market sentiment recovered somewhat, but actual transactions were still dominated by rigid demand stockpiling. Cobalt intermediate product prices remained stable, with miners’ quotations firm but limited acceptance from downstream smelters, resulting in a significant bid-ask spread. Market transactions for cobalt sulphate, cobalt chloride, and Co3O4 remained sluggish, with strong downstream wait-and-see sentiment and restocking demand not yet significantly released. Cobalt powder prices continued to decline, as off-season pressure on cemented carbide persisted. Ternary cathode precursor prices weakened, while ternary cathode materials rebounded slightly but with limited transactions. LCO demand remained relatively weak.

[SMM Cobalt Lithium Morning Meeting Minutes: This week, overall sentiment in the industry chain recovered, as a rebound in upstream raw material prices drove some material prices higher. Lithium carbonate, LFP, and separator segments performed strongly. Downstream production schedules stayed high, with demand from energy storage, commercial vehicles, and power batteries still providing support. However, acceptance of high prices was limited, and actual transactions were mostly based on essential needs. Cobalt salts, nickel salts, and ternary cathode precursors remained in the doldrums, with a strong wait-and-see sentiment prevailing in the market. Overall, short-term prices may continue to drift higher, but attention still needs to be paid to raw material arrivals, the sustainability of restocking, and the realization of end-use demand going forward.]

This week, the aluminum processing industry was broadly under pressure from three factors: a deepening off-season, continuously weakening aluminum prices that fueled widespread price-drop sentiment, and shrinking exports. Only a few subsectors such as energy storage provided marginal support. The operating rate is expected to continue its downward trend in the short term.