On August 13 China's steel export prices eased broadly. Some flat-product export prices fell 1 USD/tonne day on day, with HRC transactions at 482-485 USD/tonne; prices edged up over the week, and both traders and mills reported that enquiries and concluded business were only ordinary, with just some small-lot orders done. Billet export FOB prices fell 1-2 USD/tonne, with Jiangyin port offers at 448-453 USD/tonne; billet export enquiries were reasonable but competition is fierce and exporters conceded on price, so business improved somewhat. Rebar export offers at Tianjin port slipped 1 USD/tonne with transactions at 471-476 USD/tonne; overseas enquiries were fair and some exporters concluded small lots, but overseas demand shows little urgency and the market remains in its seasonal lull.

[Announcement on September 2026 Domestic Futures Sales Price Adjustments for Sheets & Plates by Ansteel and Bensteel Group] Ansteel’s product price policy for September 2026 is adjusted as follows based on the August 2026 product price policy: 1. Hot-rolled: raised by 50 yuan/mt. 2. Pickled: raised by 50 yuan/mt. Automotive steel raised by 50 yuan/mt. 3. Cold-rolled: raised by 50 yuan/mt. Automotive steel raised by 50 yuan/mt. In addition: Anshen high-strength wire rods of grades 590MPa, 780MPa, 980MPa and 1180MPa were raised by 50 yuan/mt. 4. Full-hard: raised by 50 yuan/mt. 5. Galvanizing: raised by 50 yuan/mt. 6. Non-oriented silicon steel: raised by 50 yuan/mt. 7. Color-coated: raised by 50 yuan/mt. 8. Medium-thickness plates: raised by 50 yuan/mt. 9. Wire rod: unchanged. 10. Rebar: unchanged. 11. Alloy surcharge: refer to the price list. Ansteel Co., Ltd. Marketing Center Aug 11, 2026 Bensteel Group’s product price policy for September 2026 is adjusted as follows based on the August 2026 product price policy: 1. Hot-rolled: raised by 50 yuan/mt. 2. Pickled: raised by 50 yuan/mt. Automotive steel raised by 50 yuan/mt. 3. Cold-rolled: raised by 50 yuan/mt. Automotive steel raised by 50 yuan/mt. 4. Full-hard: raised by 50 yuan/mt. 5. Galvanizing: raised by 50 yuan/mt. 6. Electrogalvanization: raised by 50 yuan/mt. 7. Non-oriented silicon steel: raised by 50 yuan/mt. 8. Wire rod: unchanged. 9. Rebar: unchanged. 10. Special steel: raised by 50 yuan/mt. 11. Alloy surcharge: refer to the price list. Bensteel Plates Marketing Center, Beiying Operation Center Aug 11, 2026

[India] The Indian domestic steel market showed a mildly positive but cautious sentiment on Thursday. Prices edged higher in Mandi Gobindgarh, while Mumbai remained relatively stable, indicating limited improvement in market activity. Buying interest remains cautious with monsoon conditions continuing to weigh on construction demand. In northern Mandi Gobindgarh, HMS 1&2 (80:20) edged up by at 2.10USD/tonne delivered Mandi to (33,900 INR/tonne). Billet prices up 1.05USD/tonne delivered Mandi to (42,400INR/tonne). Meanwhile, Mumbai HMS 1&2 (80:20) unchanged delivered Mumbai (31,000INR/tonne). Rebar prices up 1.05USD/tonne delivered Mumbai to (47,200INR/tonne).

On August 13, total rebar inventory this week stood at 685.15 mt, up 52,300 mt WoW (+0.77%) and up 35.14% YoY on the lunar calendar; total wire rod inventory this week stood at 1.612 million mt, up 81,400 mt WoW (+5.32%) and up 45.35% YoY on the lunar calendar.

SMM, August 13: Metals market: As of the midday close, domestic base metals were mostly lower. SHFE copper fell 0.5%, SHFE aluminum fell 0.9%, SHFE lead rose 0.63%, SHFE zinc fell 0.27%, SHFE tin fell 0.86%, and SHFE nickel fell 0.16%. In addition, the most-traded cast aluminum futures contract fell 1.33%, the most-traded alumina contract fell 1.62%, the most-traded lithium carbonate contract was flat at 148,840 yuan/mt, the most-traded silicon metal contract fell 0.64%, and the most-traded polysilicon futures contract rose 0.75%. Ferrous metals all fell. Iron ore fell 0.14%, rebar fell 0.5%, hot-rolled coil fell 0.37%, and stainless steel fell 0.93%. Coking coal and coke: the most-traded coking coal contract fell 1.27%, and the most-traded coke contract fell 0.73%. Overseas base metals: as of 11:45, LME metals were nearly all lower. LME copper fell 0.2%, LME aluminum fell 0.89%, LME zinc fell 0.4%, LME tin fell 0.18%, LME nickel fell 0.59%, and LME lead rose 0.21%. Precious metals: as of 11:45, COMEX gold rose 0.02%, and COMEX silver fell 0.08%. Domestic precious metals: SHFE gold rose 0.34%, and the most-traded SHFE silver contract rose 0.28%. Additionally, as of the midday close, the most-traded platinum futures contract fell 0.52%, and the most-traded palladium futures contract fell 0.57%. As of the midday close, the most-traded European container shipping futures contract rose 1.75% to 1,630 points. As of 11:45 on August 13, midday quotes for selected futures: Spot and fundamentals Copper: Today, Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot prices against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was quoted at a discount of 20 yuan/mt, down 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was quoted at a discount of 120 yuan/mt, down 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; and SX-EW copper was quoted at a discount of 200 yuan/mt, down 60 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 108,250 yuan/mt, down 160 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, and the average price of SX-EW copper was 108,100 yuan/mt, down 200 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot market: Guangdong inventories fell for two consecutive days, with arrivals declining and warehouse withdrawals increasing slightly... Macro front China: [China Is Formulating a New Round of Action Plans for Continuous Air Quality Improvement] The State Council Information Office held a themed press conference today (13th) in the series "Opening and Starting the '15th Five-Year Plan'." At the press conference, it was noted that China has made gratifying progress in air pollution control, but there is still no room for complacency or letting up; patience and resolve must be maintained. Currently, a new round of action plans for the continuous improvement of air quality is being expedited, and the battle to keep skies blue will focus on being "higher, more precise, and more scientific." (CCTV News) [Cumulative Trading Volume of the National Carbon Emissions Trading Market Tops 900 Million mt] Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment, said at the "Launching the 15th Five-Year Plan" press conference series held by the State Council Information Office on August 13 that by the end of July, cumulative trading volume in the national carbon emissions trading market had exceeded 930 million mt, effectively promoting the green and low-carbon transition while driving low-cost carbon reduction across industries. (Xinhua News Agency) [Shanghai: Promote Issuance of "Computing Power Vouchers," "Model Vouchers," and "Corpus Vouchers" to Reduce the Cost of Using Digital Factors Such as Public Data, Computing Power, Models, and Corpora] Shanghai issued the "Shanghai Action Plan for Implementing the Several Measures on Further Promoting Private Investment Development." The plan states that Shanghai will provide computing power subsidies in accordance with laws and regulations, support private enterprises in renting intelligent computing resources for the R&D, training, and application of large models, and encourage universities, research institutions, and state-owned enterprises to use data storage and computing power resources built by various market entities, including private enterprises. It will publish and dynamically update the public data opening list, support private enterprises in the in-depth development and scenario-based use of specific public data, and promote the issuance of "computing power vouchers," "model vouchers," and "corpus vouchers" to reduce the cost of using digital factors such as public data, computing power, models, and corpora. It will cultivate benchmark and platform enterprises for urban digital transformation, and guide private enterprises to participate in the construction and scenario operation of digital transformation projects in areas such as transportation, logistics, and public services. It also encourages private enterprises to build demonstration projects of new-type infrastructure such as blockchain applications and large-scale robot applications. (Jin10 Data APP) [PBOC Reverse Repo Operations Post Net Withdrawal of CNY1 Billion on the Day] The PBOC did not conduct reverse repo operations today, as CNY1 billion in 7-day reverse repos matured, resulting in a net withdrawal of CNY1 billion on the day. On the Dollar Side: As of 11:45, the US dollar index was up 0.01% at 100. US core inflation in July was mild, which likely eased pressure on the US Fed to raise interest rates. Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday showed that, excluding volatile food and energy categories, core CPI rose 0.2% MoM in July. The YoY increase was 2.5%, matching the slowest pace since March 2021. Overall, July CPI rose 0.1% MoM and 3.4% YoY. This report indicated that the energy price shock from the Iran war continued to fade in July. As the US Fed discusses whether to raise rates at its September meeting, these figures may give the US Fed more room to weigh inflation pressures against the recent slowdown in hiring. Before the September meeting, policymakers will also see more reports on employment and inflation, while investors will closely watch a speech that Fed Chairman Warsh is expected to deliver at the annual Jackson Hole symposium later this month. US stock index futures rose, while US Treasury yields were basically flat. Investors lowered their bets on a September rate hike. According to CME "FedWatch": the probability that the US Fed will keep rates unchanged by September is 59.9%, and the probability of a cumulative 25bp rate hike is 40.1%. By October, the probability that the US Fed will keep rates unchanged is 45.3%, the probability of a cumulative 25bp rate hike is 44.9%, and the probability of a cumulative 50bp rate hike is 9.8%. (Jin10 Data App) A CITIC Securities research report said that US July CPI was fully in line with expectations, core inflation remained mild, and second-round inflation effects were modest, which helped further ease market concerns about inflation risks. We continue to believe that US inflation is not sticky, and we expect headline CPI YoY growth to generally continue its mild slowdown trend in Q3 and hit bottom in September, then rebound slightly in Q4 this year and decline rapidly in March next year. We still expect the US Fed to keep rates unchanged for the whole year, and there is further room for downward revision in rate hike expectations priced into derivatives markets. A CICC research report said that US July CPI rose 0.1% MoM on a seasonally adjusted basis and 3.4% YoY, while core CPI rose 0.2% MoM and 2.5% YoY, all in line with market expectations. Energy prices continued to pull back, but international oil prices have risen again since August, increasing uncertainty about future energy prices. On the core inflation front, goods were strong while services were weak; in particular, prices of information technology products such as computers and software continued to rise, reflecting that the supply-demand mismatch caused by AI capital spending expansion is gradually transmitting to the consumer side. We believe US inflation may have entered a new phase, with its drivers gradually shifting from supply shocks such as tariffs and oil prices to demand expansion from AI investment, and the duration of inflation may be correspondingly prolonged. For the US Fed, this data eased near-term pressure to raise rates, but compared with supply-driven inflation, demand-pull inflation requires more attention from policymakers. Other currencies: RBA Assistant Governor Kent said that Australian monetary policy is currently restrictive, the three consecutive rate hikes early this year are now weighing on the economy, and the stronger Australian dollar has further reinforced this effect. He said: "Evidence suggests that monetary policy in Australia is somewhat restrictive, and the tightening earlier this year is working. Borrowing costs have risen, mortgage repayments have increased, conditions in the established housing market have weakened, and the Australian dollar has also appreciated year-to-date." He said aggregate demand growth appears to be slowing, adding that this is what policymakers want to see and is necessary to bring inflation back to target. (Jin10 Data APP) Data Front: Today will bring the US 10-year Treasury auction high yield and bid-to-cover ratio for Aug 12, US initial jobless claims for the week ending Aug 8, US July PPI y/y and m/m, UK Q2 GDP y/y preliminary, UK June three-month GDP m/m, UK June manufacturing production m/m, UK June seasonally adjusted goods trade balance, UK June industrial production m/m, and Eurozone June industrial production m/m, among others. In addition, JD.com will hold its Q2 earnings call; 2026 FOMC voter and Cleveland Fed President Hammack will speak, and 2027 FOMC voter and Richmond Fed President Barkin will speak on the economic outlook. Crude Oil: As of 11:45, both benchmark oil prices fell, with WTI down 0.96% and Brent down 0.82%. Oil prices edged down as traders waited for signs of progress on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. On the Middle East front, there has been almost no sign of progress on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. US President Trump said the United States has "complete control" over the waterway. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that as the US-Iran war continues, the global oil market faces a supply shortfall of 1.8 million barrels per day this quarter, more than double its earlier forecast; the 2026 oil supply gap could reach its largest level in five years. According to the American Automobile Association, gasoline and diesel prices in the US have never been this high at this time of year. (Jin10 Data APP) Spot Market at a Glance: ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ►

SMM, August 13: Metals: Overnight, base metals in both domestic and overseas markets showed mixed performance, with LME aluminum leading losses by falling 1.46%, SHFE lead leading gains with a 0.57% rise, SHFE aluminum falling 0.62%, and the remaining metals all edging down slightly. The most-active alumina contract fell 0.81%, and cast aluminum fell 1.06%. Overnight, ferrous metals broadly fell, with only iron ore rising, by 0.42%. Stainless steel, rebar, and hot-rolled coil all saw modest declines; in the coking coal and coke segment, coking coal fell 1.08% and coke fell 0.47%. In precious metals, overnight COMEX gold rose 0.63% and posted a four-day winning streak, while COMEX silver rose 0.92%. In China, SHFE gold rose 0.36% and SHFE silver rose 0.63%, both notching a seven-day winning streak. Overnight closing quotes as of 6:37 on August 13: Macro Front China: [PBOC: Timely Plan and Introduce Practical and Effective Incremental Policies and Strengthen Counter-Cyclical Adjustment] The PBOC released its Q2 2026 monetary policy implementation report. It will promptly plan and introduce pragmatic and effective incremental policies, strengthen counter-cyclical adjustment, step up efforts to expand domestic demand and optimize supply, and promote sustained, higher-quality and improving economic development. It will unswervingly follow the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics, further deepen financial reform and high-standard opening up, accelerate the building of a strong financial sector, improve the central bank system, build a scientific and sound monetary policy system and a comprehensive macroprudential management framework, and smooth the monetary policy transmission mechanism. US Dollar: As of the overnight close, the US dollar index rose 0.15% to 99.97. US core inflation in July was mild, which likely eased pressure on the Fed to raise interest rates. Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday showed that core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.2% MoM in July. The YoY increase was 2.5%, matching the slowest pace since March 2021. Overall, July CPI rose 0.1% MoM and 3.4% YoY. The report indicated that the energy-price shock from the Iran war continued to fade in July. As the Fed discusses whether to raise interest rates at its September meeting, the data may give the Fed more room to balance inflation pressures against the recent slowdown in hiring. Before the September meeting, policymakers will also see more reports on employment and inflation, while investors will closely watch a speech by Fed Chairman Warsh, expected later this month at the annual Jackson Hole symposium. US stock index futures moved higher, and Treasury yields were basically flat. Investors reduced bets on a September rate hike. (Jinshi Data App) CITIC Securities said in a research note that US July CPI was fully in line with expectations, core inflation remained mild, and second-round inflation effects were subdued, which helped further ease market concerns about inflation risks. The firm still believes US inflation is not sticky and expects headline CPI YoY to broadly continue its mild slowdown in Q3 and bottom in September, before rebounding slightly in Q4 this year and falling rapidly next March. It still expects the Fed to stay on hold throughout this year, and there is still room for the rate-hike expectations priced into derivatives markets to be revised further downward. (Jinshi Data App) CICC said in a research note that US July CPI rose 0.1% MoM seasonally adjusted and 3.4% YoY, while core inflation rose 0.2% MoM and 2.5% YoY, all in line with market expectations. Energy prices continued to fall, but international oil prices have moved higher again since August, adding uncertainty to future energy prices. On the core inflation front, goods were firm and services were soft; in particular, prices of information technology products such as computers and software continued to rise, reflecting that the supply-demand mismatch brought by AI capital expenditure expansion is gradually being transmitted to the consumer side. We believe US inflation may have entered a new phase, with its drivers gradually shifting from supply shocks such as tariffs and oil prices to demand expansion from AI investment, which may extend the persistence of inflation. For the Fed, this data has eased near-term pressure to raise rates, but compared with supply-driven inflation, demand-driven inflation requires more attention from policymakers. (Jinshi Data App) J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s chief global strategist said the Fed should keep interest rates unchanged and expects inflation to gradually decline as mounting evidence shows that a sustained wage-price spiral will not form. David Kelly said after the July CPI release, “The Fed absolutely should stay on hold, and I actually think they will.” The report showed that US core inflation remained mild in July, and after the release, Treasuries extended gains. Kelly noted that three forces are working together to drive a clear cooling in inflation: tariff costs will decline on a YoY basis; oil prices will fall as the market turns optimistic that the Iran war will end; and wage growth continues to lag inflation. He added that the last point weakens the momentum needed for price pressures to form a self-reinforcing cycle and also means the Fed does not need to raise rates to contain inflation. Kelly noted that financial markets are currently highly leveraged, and even a small rate hike could trigger asset repricing. (Jinshi Data App) According to CME FedWatch: the probability that the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged by September is 59.9%, and the probability of a cumulative 25 bp rate hike is 40.1%. The probability that the Fed will keep rates unchanged by October is 45.3%, the probability of a cumulative 25 bp rate hike is 44.9%, and the probability of a cumulative 50 bp rate hike is 9.8%. (Jinshi Data App) Macro Front: Today will bring data including the US August 12 10-year Treasury auction high yield and bid-to-cover ratio, US initial jobless claims for the week ending August 8, US July PPI YoY, US July PPI MoM, UK Q2 GDP YoY preliminary, UK June three-month GDP MoM, UK June manufacturing output MoM, UK June seasonally adjusted goods trade balance, UK June industrial output MoM, and eurozone June industrial output MoM. In addition, JD.com will hold its Q2 earnings call; 2026 FOMC voting member and Cleveland Fed President Hammack will speak; and 2027 FOMC voting member and Richmond Fed President Barkin will speak on the economic outlook. Crude Oil: Overnight, both oil benchmarks fell, with US crude down 0.75% and Brent down 0.4%. Oil prices edged down after five straight sessions of gains, as traders awaited signs of progress in reopening the Strait of Hormuz. WTI crude fell below $82 a barrel after rallying 11% over the previous five sessions; Brent briefly fell below $87. On the Middle East front, there were almost no signs of progress in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and US President Trump said the US has “full control” over the waterway. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that as the US-Iran war continues, the global oil market faces a supply shortfall of 1.8 million barrels per day this quarter, more than double its previous forecast; the 2026 oil supply gap could be the largest in five years. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), gasoline and diesel prices in the US have never been this high at this time of year. (Jinshi Data App) Satellite imagery showed that very large crude carriers docked at the Juaymah terminal near Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia’s main export port on the Persian Gulf, for the first time in weeks, indicating that Saudi Arabia is working to maintain crude exports. However, due to the Iran war, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and threats from Houthi forces, shipping activity at Saudi ports remains affected. As the world’s largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia has recently shifted some crude transport to the Red Sea port of Yanbu and is exporting to the Mediterranean via the SUMED pipeline. At the same time, activity at Yanbu port has declined from earlier, with only three tankers currently observed at berth, capable of carrying about 3.4 million barrels of crude. Analysts believe that Saudi export routes are shifting from the traditional route to Asian markets via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait toward an alternative route that runs north through the Red Sea and connects to the Suez Canal, in order to reduce regional security risks. Because some tankers have turned off their automatic identification systems and satellite observations have gaps, the actual scale of Saudi crude loadings remains difficult to fully confirm. (Jinshi Data App) Russia’s July crude production was nearly 1 million bpd below its OPEC+ quota, because Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil infrastructure almost every day. According to OPEC’s monthly report, Russia’s average daily crude output last month was 8.887 million barrels. Although this was only 6,000 bpd lower than the revised June average, July’s daily average output was clearly below Russia’s 9.824 million barrel monthly target under its agreement with allies. The data came as the Russian oil industry faces continued attacks from Ukraine. Last month, Kyiv shifted targets from refineries to tankers and other facilities, with the focus of attacks constantly changing, threatening Russia’s crude processing volumes and exports while the global energy market was already under pressure from the Middle East conflict. (Jinshi Data App) The latest IEA monthly report showed that, due to the rekindling of the Middle East conflict and disruptions to maritime transport, the global oil market is currently facing a supply shortfall of about 1.8 million barrels per day, and the IEA has doubled its Q3 oil supply shortfall forecast and expects the full-year 2026 gap could be the largest in five years. Since the conflict broke out, global observed oil inventories have fallen by 410 million barrels, including a decline of 69 million barrels in July alone. Meanwhile, the IEA has raised its forecast for the decline in global oil demand in 2026 by 510,000 bpd to 1.6 million barrels per day, implying that global oil demand this year will see its largest annual decline since 2020. But even with demand suppressed by high oil prices, supply losses continue to keep inventories under pressure. (Wallstreetcn)