This week, ferrous metals were in the doldrums, with coking coal and coke staging a mid-week rise. At the beginning of the week, financial markets experienced sharp fluctuations, dragging down sentiment in the ferrous chain and leading to a pullback in futures. Mid-week, Indonesia's cut to coke production quotas drove coking coal and coke futures to lead the gains, though the impact was more pronounced on thermal coal, while coking coal's rise was largely sentiment-driven and short-lived. In the latter part of the week, finished products continued their seasonal inventory buildup, and support from the raw material side weakened, causing the entire ferrous chain to pull back. In the spot market, with the Chinese New Year holiday approaching, purchasing activity slowed down further, with end-users only making limited, as-needed purchases at low prices.

This week, the ferrous metals series first rose and then fell, with an overall downward trend. At the beginning of the week, the China-US talks sent optimistic signals, improving market sentiment and driving up the futures market. However, mid-week, the fundamental factors of steel turned weak, coupled with fading sentiment, causing the futures market to decline. As the weekend approached, the US announced that it would impose a tariff hike on steel home appliances starting from the 23rd, leading to a significant drop in the futures market, except for coking coal and coke. In the spot market, the futures market rose in the first half of the week, leading to a phased improvement in market transactions. However, most transactions were driven by rigid demand for low-priced purchases, and seasonal characteristics began to emerge...

Details of the hot topics in the aluminum market this week (June 9-12, 2025) are as follows......

[SMM Weekly Inventory of Construction Materials in Guiyang] As of June 11, the total inventory of construction materials in Guiyang this week was 67,800 mt, down 2,100 mt WoW, representing a 3.01% decrease WoW. Among them, the inventory of rebar was 43,100 mt, down 1,400 mt WoW, and the inventory of wire rod was 24,700 mt, down 700 mt WoW.

This week, the ferrous metals series opened lower and closed higher, with coking coal rising by over 12% and coke by over 7%. On the macro front, at the beginning of the week, the Caixin Manufacturing PMI was recorded at 48.3, falling below the critical point for the first time since October 2024. The futures market opened lower. Mid-week, there was a series of news about coking coal, including a tariff hike on Mongolian coal, followed by production cuts in the Sanxi region and the implementation of the Mineral Resources Law. These developments brought about a rebound in coking coal and coke, which had been experiencing a smooth decline and were undervalued earlier. At the same time, they also drove up other ferrous metals series products. However, the fundamentals of coking coal remained weak, and the medium and long-term outlook remained bearish...

Details of the hot topics in the aluminum market this week (June 03-05, 2025) are as follows......

[SMM Weekly Inventory of Construction Materials in Guiyang] As of June 4, the total inventory of construction materials in Guiyang was 69,900 mt this week, up 12,800 mt WoW, representing a WoW increase of 22.44%. Among them, the inventory of rebar was 44,500 mt, up 8,500 mt WoW, and the inventory of wire rod was 25,400 mt, up 4,300 mt WoW.

This week, ferrous metals series experienced greater volatility, with prices falling at the beginning of the week and slightly recovering towards the end of the week. However, the overall decline for the week was significant. On the macro front, as the week drew to a close, the US Court of International Trade blocked the Trump administration's reciprocal tariff and fentanyl tariff. But by Friday, news emerged that the ruling of the US Court of International Trade had been suspended. In fact, even if the ruling were implemented, tariffs on specific industries such as automobiles and auto parts, steel, and aluminum would not cease, and the actual impact on steel would be limited. Therefore, it is not advisable to be overly optimistic...

[SMM Coke Market Weekly Report 20250530] Market bearish sentiment remains strong, with a third round of coke price cut expected next week

Details of the hot topics in the aluminum market this week (May 26-29, 2025) are as follows......