[SMM Analysis] Indian Steel Prices Continued to Weaken, Southeast Asian Procurement Sentiment Remained Cautious From the price spread model, billet/slab: Chinese resources expanded their advantage in the Indonesian market, with the price spread hitting a new monthly low. The inversion between China HRC (FOB) and core ex-China markets deteriorated across the board this week, with multiple indicators hitting historical or periodic highs mid-week, except for the China-India spread which rebounded. Chinese resources are expected to continue offering low FOB prices to Southeast Asia and the Middle East next week, and the price spread matrix is unlikely to narrow significantly in the short term. Meanwhile, considering the approaching EU new regulations, June will be a window period for intense price collapse between Indian and Chinese resources in non-EU markets (such as the Middle East and ASEAN). By sub-market, Indian HRC export prices continued to weaken last week, with suppliers lowering offers to stimulate demand amid an overall sluggish regional market. Vietnam remained the primary export destination for Indian SAE1006 HRC, with August shipment offers gradually declining from $580/mt CFR to $565–570/mt CFR. The price decline was still driven by persistently weak demand, intensified competition among exporters, and widespread market expectations of further regional price declines. According to market rumors, a 30,000 mt cargo of Indian HRC was transacted at $565–570/mt CFR Vietnam last week, below the latest market offer of $572/mt CFR quoted on Friday. However, overall transaction activity remained limited, with Vietnamese buyers mostly adopting a wait-and-see strategy, focusing on the upcoming new monthly HRC price announcements from Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation and Hoa Phat Group before deciding on new procurement plans. Market participants noted that cautious downstream demand and expectations of continued price declines continued to suppress buyer restocking willingness. Overall, the demand environment facing Indian exporters remained challenging. Southeast Asian market: Affected by weak downstream demand and market expectations of further price declines, overall steel trading sentiment remained cautious, with procurement activity continuing to be suppressed. In Vietnam, domestic HRC prices showed a weakening trend due to sluggish new orders and traders maintaining low inventory management. Downstream buyers also mostly adopted a wait-and-see approach, on one hand waiting for local steel mills to announce new monthly offers, and on the other hand closely monitoring China steel futures price fluctuations. Meanwhile, Indonesian suppliers remained among the most competitive sellers in the region, offering HRC to Vietnam at approximately $585/mt CFR, continuing to exert pressure on regional prices. On June 1, Hoa Phat announced its latest price adjustment, lowering HRC offers by $13/mt. Following this announcement, local market transaction prices are expected to continue declining. Overall, seasonal demand weakness, ample market supply, and cautious procurement behavior will collectively keep trading activity in the Southeast Asian market subdued. Turkish market: Affected by the Eid al-Adha holiday, sheets & plates trading in the Middle East and Turkey largely stalled this week, with long and flat product prices remaining stable. By product, as July shipping quota is about to be readjusted, EU buyers' purchasing remained weak, and Turkey's HRC exports to the EU had been quiet since before the holiday. However, as current orders were relatively sufficient, Turkish steel mills were not in a hurry to lower prices to close deals before the quota announcement, but instead focused more on domestic sales. In the long product market, due to regional conflicts and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East causing continued logistics disruptions, China's rebar exports to the Middle East declined. Turkish suppliers successfully captured this market gap, with rebar exports rebounding significantly in April, and exports to Yemen, Africa, and parts of Europe also achieved notable growth. Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM"), and SMM legally enjoys complete copyright and related intellectual property rights. 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[June Refined Zinc Production to Decline, Smelter Profitability in Focus] According to SMM data, China's refined zinc production in May 2026 was down 0.41% MoM but up over 5.8% YoY. Cumulative smelter production from January to May was up nearly 5.8% YoY, exceeding expectations.

According to the latest SMM data, the secondary lead industry faced worsening difficulties of high costs and losses, with the price spread between raw materials and finished products continuing to narrow, enterprise losses widening, and operating rates declining accordingly.

[SMM Lead Morning Meeting Minutes: Supply Recovery VS Tight Raw Materials, Lead Prices May Continue to Consolidate] The U.S.-Iran ceasefire and peace talks continued to advance, but considerable uncertainties remained, and risk-averse sentiment was strong in the market. Production at China's primary lead and secondary lead smelters was gradually recovering...

[SMM Zinc Morning Comment] Overnight, the most-traded SHFE zinc 2607 contract opened higher with a gap at 24,880 yuan/mt. At the beginning of the session, SHFE zinc briefly touched a high of 24,925 yuan/mt before pulling back to a session low of 24,735 yuan/mt. However, bears reducing open interest supported SHFE zinc to rebound in a volatile manner, recovering part of the losses. It finally closed higher at 24,780 yuan/mt, up 60 yuan/mt or 0.24%, with trading volume decreasing to 51,326 lots and open interest decreasing by 967 lots to 105,000 lots.

[SMM Morning Meeting Summary: LME Zinc Posted a Bullish Candlestick, Attention on Macro Changes] Overnight, LME zinc opened at $3,545/mt. At the beginning of the session, LME zinc moved sideways around the daily average line, edging down briefly below $3,542.5/mt before rebounding and strengthening in a volatile manner. Near the end of the session, it touched a high of $3,585/mt and ultimately closed up at $3,582.00/mt, gaining $38.5/mt or 1.09%. Trading volume increased to 125,000 lots, while open interest decreased by 212 lots to 230,000 lots.