[Ford Halts Production at Factory Due to Shortage of Rare Earth Magnets] Ford CEO Jim Farley stated that the company is still facing a supply deficit of rare earth elements. The Chicago Explorer factory halted production for a week last month due to a shortage of raw materials. Despite positive signals from China-U.S. trade negotiations, there has been no significant improvement in the supply of rare earth elements.

[Domestic Conference Releases Positive Signals, Zinc Prices Continue to Rise This Week] At the beginning of the week, influenced by the US January personal spending monthly rate being lower than the previous value and expected value last Friday, and the US February Chicago PMI exceeding expectations, LME zinc maintained a fluctuating trend. Meanwhile, the higher-than-expected US February S&P Global Manufacturing PMI data and the lower-than-expected US February ISM Manufacturing PMI on Monday caused LME zinc to continue maintaining a fluctuating trend...

[US Tariffs Trigger Market Sentiment Fluctuations, Zinc Prices at Home and Abroad Maintain Fluctuating Trend] At the beginning of the week, as the final January Chicago PMI in the US recorded 39.5, lower than the market expectation of 40 but higher than the previous value of 36.9, and still below the 50 mark, heightened market risk aversion sentiment drove LME zinc upward...

[US Tariffs Trigger Market Sentiment Fluctuations, Zinc Prices Maintain Fluctuating Trend in Domestic and Overseas Markets] At the beginning of the week, as the final January Chicago PMI in the US recorded 39.5, lower than the market expectation of 40 but higher than the previous value of 36.9, remaining below the 50 mark, heightened market risk aversion sentiment drove LME zinc upward...

SMM Tin Midday Review: The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract May Maintain Sideways Movement, Breakthrough Depends on Escalation of DRC Conflict or Unexpected Macro Policy Easing. The most-traded SHFE tin contract (SN2504) showed a bottoming-out pattern in the morning session, opening at 279,500 yuan/mt, briefly dipping to 278,000 yuan/mt, and then rebounding due to macro policy fluctuations and supply-demand imbalance, closing at 279,450 yuan/mt at midday, up 0.27%. The intraday fluctuation range was 277,000-280,000 yuan/mt, with open interest decreasing by 2,879 lots to 10,000 lots, indicating cautious market sentiment. LME tin prices moved in sync, quoted at $34,900/mt during the Asian session. US Fed policy fluctuations: Although the US Fed maintained interest rates unchanged at its March meeting, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago stated that "rate cuts need to wait longer," coupled with the Trump administration's announcement of a 25% permanent tariff on automobiles, the US dollar index rebounded to a high of 104.3, suppressing the valuation of non-ferrous metals.

[Domestic Conference Releases Positive Signals, Zinc Prices Continue to Rise This Week] At the beginning of the week, influenced by the US January personal spending monthly rate being lower than the previous value and expected value last Friday, and the US February Chicago PMI being higher than the expected value, LME zinc maintained a fluctuating trend. Meanwhile, on Monday, the higher-than-expected US February S&P Global Manufacturing PMI data and the lower-than-expected US February ISM Manufacturing PMI caused LME zinc to continue maintaining a fluctuating trend...

US automaker Ford Motor Company still faces challenges in securing supplies of rare earth magnets, which are critical for vehicle production. Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, said that the supply of these key components has been coming from China, but with China implementing a new approval process for rare earth exports, the supply continues to slow down. Ford can only confirm daily whether there is sufficient rare earth supply, forcing it to shut down some factories to barely maintain production. In May, due to a supply deficit of rare earths, Ford's Explorer SUV factory in Chicago halted production for a week. Farley said that while he is pleased with the recent progress in US-China trade negotiations, he has yet to see an improvement in the supply situation for magnets. He also mentioned that he has submitted applications to China's Ministry of Commerce, which are currently being reviewed one by one.

US automaker Ford Motor Company still faces challenges in securing supplies of rare earth magnets, which are critical for vehicle production. Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, said that the supply of these key components has consistently come from China, but with China implementing a new approval process for rare earth exports, the supply continues to slow down. Ford can only confirm daily whether there is sufficient rare earth supply, forcing it to shut down some factories to barely maintain production. In May, due to a supply deficit of rare earths, Ford's Explorer SUV factory in Chicago halted production for a week. Farley said that while he is pleased with the recent progress in US-China trade negotiations, he has yet to see an improvement in the supply situation for magnets. He also mentioned that Ford has submitted applications to China's Ministry of Commerce, which are currently being reviewed one by one.

Recently, US President Trump's tariff policies have sparked concerns about a US economic recession and caused significant turbulence in global financial markets. On Thursday local time, Chicago Fed Chairman and 2025 FOMC voting member Goolsbee issued unusually harsh criticism of Trump's policies. He described tariffs as a "stagflationary shock" and suggested that this could challenge the US Fed's ability to respond. "Tariffs are like a negative supply shock. It is a stagflationary shock," Goolsbee said during a fireside chat at the Economic Club of New York. "There is no universal template for how central banks should respond to stagflationary shocks." Stagflation refers to an economic environment of "slowing growth accompanied by high inflation," which poses a dangerous situation for the US Fed as it lacks the tools to address both issues simultaneously. Goolsbee, who served as a senior economic advisor to former US President Obama, made these remarks particularly noteworthy because Fed officials typically avoid publicly commenting on presidential decisions. On Wednesday, Trump announced that the US would suspend high "reciprocal tariffs" on dozens of countries for 90 days, but the 10% base tariffs would remain in effect. Goolsbee pointed out that the new tariff regime is much stronger than what Chicago Fed economists had anticipated . Despite the current stability of the US economy , Goolsbee stated that the "hard data" on inflation and unemployment indicate that the US economy is currently in a stable state . Currently, the US unemployment rate remains near 4%, close to historic lows. Data released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed that US CPI inflation fell to 2.4% in March this year. The Trump administration views this as a sign that prices are declining. Goolsbee noted that the current situation is far from the unemployment and price surges that caused the stagflation crisis in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Nevertheless, he stated that slowing economic growth, high prices, and growing concerns about a resurgence of price surges and supply disruptions similar to those during the pandemic collectively form a "triangle of uncertainty" . He said that businesses in his region—including a significant number of domestic automakers—"are fundamentally worried that we might return to a stage where inflation truly spirals out of control." He added that he is closely monitoring surveys of consumers and businesses, as well as long-term inflation expectations in the market. Emphasizing the Importance of Fed Independence Goolsbee also emphasized that the US Fed's ability to mitigate future unemployment or inflation spikes will depend on its independence from elected officials . Trump has stated that he believes he has the right to participate in monetary policy decisions and considered firing Fed Chairman Powell during his first presidential term because the Fed was raising interest rates at the time. However, Powell has stated that US law does not grant the president the authority to fire the Fed Chairman. "Sometimes the Fed has to do tough work," Goolsbee said. "That's why they established a system of monetary independence. If the Fed's operations are subject to political interference, moments like those during the Volcker era (dealing with high inflation and other challenging situations) would become much more difficult."

Last Friday, LME lead opened at $2,156/mt, and hit a session low of $2,148/mt at the beginning and then shook up to $2,167/mt, and finally closed at $2,155/mt, down 0.07%.