Today, iron ore futures strengthened. The most-traded DCE I2609 contract closed at 719 yuan/mt, up 2.57% from the previous trading session. Spot prices at Qingdao Port averaged an increase of about 10-15 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Traders offered actively, steel mills purchased as needed, and overall spot transactions were moderate. Currently, the supply-demand fundamentals of iron ore have not changed much. In terms of inventory structure, concentrates and lump ore continued their destocking trend, while pellet inventory edged up. Among them, PB fines saw a notable inventory buildup. On the news front, market rumors suggested that a large mine may face trade controls. Although iron ore inventory and port arrivals are both at relatively high levels, such rumors still triggered concerns over structural supply shortages. Therefore, taking all factors into account, sentiment-driven support is likely to underpin iron ore in the short term, causing prices to drift higher. [SMM Steel]

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] Indonesian Nickel Ore Quota News Hits Futures, Stainless Steel Futures and Spot Prices Pull Back in Tandem According to an SMM report on Aug 6, SS futures trended downward and hit bottom. The SHFE nickel and SS futures dropped together, impacted by news of additional nickel ore quotas under Indonesia's RKAB. As of the midday close, the most-traded SS futures contract settled at 14,380 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the SS futures' successive declines intensified the wait-and-see sentiment in the industry. Although traders generally lowered their quotes in line with futures, inquiries remained sluggish, and transactions weakened further. SS most-traded futures contract. At 10:15 a.m., SS2609 was reported at 14,465 yuan/mt, down 15 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B material in the Wuxi area were in the 405-855 yuan/mt range. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi held stable. For cold-rolled unedged 304/2B coil, the average price in Wuxi fell 75 yuan/mt, while that in Foshan fell 50 yuan/mt. Cold-rolled 316L/2B coil prices in Wuxi were flat. Quotes for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil in Wuxi were unchanged. Cold-rolled 430/2B coil prices in both Wuxi and Foshan were steady. This week, macro sentiment shifted bearish, dominating metal market trends, and stainless steel futures consolidated on a subdued note overall. The US Fed kept interest rates unchanged as expected at its meeting this week, but its overall stance was hawkish. Commodity valuations generally came under pressure, and the nonferrous metals sector weakened collectively. Dragged by the spillover effect of macro headwinds, SS futures followed suit and consolidated on a subdued note, with the center of the futures moving lower. The overall market...

[SMM Rare Earth Daily Review: Rare Earth Prices Generally Weak, Downstream Wait-and-See Keeps Transactions Sluggish] Overall, affected by downstream magnetic material enterprises' wait-and-see approach to inquiries, market trading activity remains persistently sluggish, rare earth prices are generally in the doldrums, and actual transactions are still weak. In the short term, influenced by the stalemate in the tug-of-war between upstream and downstream, Pr-Nd product prices may continue to move sideways.

SMM August 6 news: The secondary refined lead market showed clear sentiment divergence. Upstream smelters, long mired in losses, had a strong willingness to hold prices firm, with some shipments quoted at a premium to sell. However, downstream enterprises' purchasing willingness was sluggish, and procurement was relatively cautious. Market quotations varied significantly, with some spot orders against the SMM #1 lead average price at parity or at a slight discount ex-factory. Actual transaction volume was limited, mostly consisting of small immediate-demand orders, and the market remained in a deadlock in the short term. Today, the SMM secondary refined lead average price was reported at 15,500 yuan/mt, at a discount of 25 yuan/mt to the SMM #1 lead average price. The supplier shipment sentiment was 1.28, and today's secondary refined lead purchase sentiment was 1.32 (historical data can be queried by logging into the database).

As of now, the FOB price of Indonesian MHP nickel stands at $15,337/mt Ni, and the FOB price of Indonesian MHP cobalt stands at $49,106/mt Co. The MHP payables (against the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index) stand at 83-84, and the MHP cobalt payables (against SMM refined cobalt (Rotterdam warehouse)) stand at 91. The FOB price of Indonesian high-grade nickel matte stands at $15,765/mt Ni.

[ADC12 Price Daily: Futures Prices Pull Back on Resistance, ADC12 Spot Stable Amid Cautious Sentiment] Today, ADC12 market quotes were mainly stable, and the pace of price adjustments remained cautious. As aluminum prices rose, cost support continued to strengthen, and enterprises' willingness to hold prices firm increased somewhat. However, constrained by limited recovery in end-use demand, most enterprises still chose to wait and see, and quote adjustments were relatively restrained.

On August 6, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate average price remained stable.

Platinum prices continued to hold up well today. Data showed that the US ADP employment change for July was 44,000, below market expectations of 70,000, with the prior figure at 98,000. Spot gold broke above the $4,300/oz mark for the first time since June 18. In the morning session, GFEX's most-traded platinum futures contract PT2610 settled at 435.05 yuan/g, up 1.05%. The inverted spread between the best ask price of SGE platinum 9995 and GFEX PT2610 narrowed to around 3 yuan/g. In the spot market, mainstream platinum quotations were at discounts of 4-2 yuan/g against the PT2610 contract. As futures continued to rise, downstream buying interest remained low, causing mainstream quotation discounts to widen slightly, and the bid-ask spread widened simultaneously. Traders' warehouse warrant offers were relatively firm, concentrated near a discount of 2.5 yuan/g to GFEX's most-traded contract. Overall, trading in the platinum spot market remained sluggish today.

[SMM Daily Review: Weaker ADP Data Boosts Silver Prices; Spot Demand and Trading Sluggish] SMM, August 6 – The US ADP employment hit a new low for the year, expectations for interest rate cuts intensified, and silver prices rebounded. Spot market silver prices rose, suppressing purchase willingness. Transactions were concentrated near parity, and demand remained sluggish.

[SMM Daily Review: Aug 5 Spot Lithium Carbonate Prices Consolidate Higher] Today, SMM battery-grade lithium carbonate spot price consolidated higher compared to the previous trading day. The lithium carbonate 2609 contract opened lower at 139,700 yuan/mt, briefly dipped to 138,300 yuan/mt after opening and then found support, with bulls stepping in to push prices to consolidate and rebound; in the morning session, prices fluctuated on the strong side in the 140,000-142,000 yuan/mt range, and the center gradually moved higher despite some back-and-forth; near midday, bulls and bears consolidated in a tug-of-war in the 141,500-142,500 yuan/mt range; in the afternoon, bulls continued to push, and prices consolidated higher; near the close, concentrated capital inflows drove prices quickly up to 144,300 yuan/mt, hitting an intraday high, then pulled back slightly on some profit-taking, settling around 143,200 yuan/mt, finally closing up 2.61% at 143,200 yuan/mt. Open interest decreased by 9,640 lots. In the spot market, downstream buyers purchased as needed on dips. Some downstream buyers saw increased spot order demand as upstream lithium chemical plants' maintenance reduced long-term contract volumes; upstream lithium chemical plants remained cautious in selling spot cargoes, with those having maintenance plans focusing on securing long-term contract supplies this month, while some lithium chemical plants showed signs of loosening their intent to hold prices firm. Overall, market inquiries and actual transactions were relatively stable.