According to SMM statistics, on July 2, aluminum billet inventory in China's mainstream consumption areas dropped to 130,000 mt, down 4,000 mt from last Monday and 10,000 mt from last Thursday, with the destocking pace accelerating markedly. Compared with the same period, it was 23,500 mt lower than in 2025 and 9,700 mt lower than in 2024, pushing total inventory to the lowest level for the same period in the past three years. In terms of warehouse withdrawals,

SMM News Release, July 3 Domestic molybdenum market saw a trend of correction at the start of June, rally in mid-month and narrow high-level fluctuations at month-end, with mainstream products posting modest gains throughout the month.

[SMM Cobalt Lithium Morning Meeting Minutes: This week, overall sentiment in the industry chain recovered, as a rebound in upstream raw material prices drove some material prices higher. Lithium carbonate, LFP, and separator segments performed strongly. Downstream production schedules stayed high, with demand from energy storage, commercial vehicles, and power batteries still providing support. However, acceptance of high prices was limited, and actual transactions were mostly based on essential needs. Cobalt salts, nickel salts, and ternary cathode precursors remained in the doldrums, with a strong wait-and-see sentiment prevailing in the market. Overall, short-term prices may continue to drift higher, but attention still needs to be paid to raw material arrivals, the sustainability of restocking, and the realization of end-use demand going forward.]

[SMM Lithium Battery Anode Raw Material Market Weekly Review: Graphitisation Market Temporarily Stable and Stagnant; Processing Fees Expected to Rise in the Future] June 7 news: This week, China’s graphitisation tolling prices remained stable overall, with no significant fluctuations.

[SMM Magnesium Weekly Review: Entire Magnesium Industry Chain Weakens; Supply-Demand Weakness Keeps Market Under Pressure] This week, China's magnesium industry chain was in the doldrums across the board. Dolomite prices in Wutai, Shanxi, remained flat. Regional supply tightened, but national supply was ample, and only just-in-time procurement was insufficient to drive prices higher. Fugu and Shenmu 9990 magnesium ingot mainstream prices were 15,750-15,850 yuan/mt, down 200 yuan on the week. High in-factory inventory prompted producers to sell at lower margins, while downstream buyers stayed on the sidelines, making only small restocking purchases, resulting in slow destocking. The average FOB price of magnesium ingot at Tianjin port was $2,275/mt. Overseas demand was sluggish due to the summer break, foreign buyers pushed for lower prices, and new orders were scarce. Falling raw material prices dragged down magnesium powder and magnesium alloy prices. Small and medium-sized magnesium alloy plants cut production, but earlier stockpiles were ample. Two-wheeler demand weakened, putting processing fees under pressure. Both upstream and downstream demand softened simultaneously, and cost support was insufficient. In the short term, the entire magnesium product range is expected to remain in the doldrums.

[Geopolitical Risk Premium Continues to Narrow, Aluminum Prices in the Doldrums] Progress has been made in indirect technical talks between the US and Iran, with discussions on fund repatriation and Strait security. Consultations on the nuclear issue are about to begin. The geopolitical risk premium continues to narrow. The dispute over management rights of the Strait of Hormuz persists, and uncertainty remains over the resumption of Strait navigation. The Federal Reserve's hawkish pivot boosted the US dollar index, weighing on nonferrous metal prices. Under macro headwinds, aluminum prices fell in and outside China. In the short term, bearish factors dominate, and aluminum prices are expected to stay in the doldrums.

In 2026, China's aluminum ingot inventory has continuously pulled back from a high of 1.465 million mt in early May, and by end-June cumulative destocking of 300,000 mt brought it down to 1.165 million mt, with the destocking pace steepening markedly. Last week, warehouse withdrawals surged to 170,000 mt, hitting a new single-week high in nearly four years. Driven by three factors—the supply-side proportion of liquid aluminum rising more than expected, supportive export demand, and...

According to SMM statistics, as of June 26, days of in-factory inventory at China’s aluminum rod plants were recorded at 1.43 days, down 0.39 days WoW from 1.82 days on June 18, with the inventory ratio further declining from 6.87% to 5.67%, a drop of 1.2 percentage points. The inventory destocking trend continued, but the decline narrowed significantly

[SMM Copper Flash] Futures pulled back somewhat in early trading, while downstream enterprises await the detailed implementation rules of US tariffs, leaving significant uncertainty over future price trends; during the previous copper price correction, downstream enterprises had already completed concentrated price-fixing and restocking, which has overdrawn current procurement demand, and new orders for copper rod enterprises have weakened notably; market wait-and-see sentiment is strong, and copper rod processing fees remain unchanged.

Copper price consolidation disrupted the production pace. The operating rate of copper cathode rod enterprises in China pulled back slightly recently, with the latest reading reaching 65.22%, down 2.13 percentage points WoW and down 8.79% YoY. This week, copper prices were in the doldrums overall. Downstream new orders recovered slightly, and most producers maintained stable output. However, some rod plants cut production proactively according to their own production schedules, directly dragging down the overall operating rate of the industry. On Thursday, copper prices fell sharply, spurring downstream users to engage in concentrated restocking and batch fixed-price purchases. Many copper rod plants saw their new orders double, and the scale of fixed-price purchases at some enterprises far exceeded normal levels. However, these orders were mostly scheduled for production next week and did not boost output this week. Faced with a surge in short-term orders, many rod plants implemented risk-control measures, hedging against price risks by raising copper rod processing fees, requiring additional margins, and other methods. End-use demand, the two core consuming industries—wire and cable and enamelled wire—actively took orders as copper prices pulled back, driving a simultaneous improvement in orders and effectively supporting the basic operation of the copper rod industry. Inventory side saw structural differentiation, with the overall market entering a destocking phase. Copper prices fell sharply near the weekend, prompting copper rod enterprises to actively replenish raw materials. Their latest raw material inventory rose 2.15% MoM. As downstream users concentrated purchases, enterprises' finished product inventories fell 2.38% MoM. Meanwhile, the market remained cautious about orders transacted in a concentrated manner on Thursday, and a large volume of goods may be difficult to be picked up by the month-end. Coupled with the approaching semi-annual reporting period, some enterprises took the initiative to scale back order intake to mitigate operational risks. Looking ahead, the weakening of copper prices has amplified the downstream's "rush to buy amid continuous price rise and hold back amid price downturn" mentality, gradually cooling procurement enthusiasm. Copper rod enterprises also harbored concerns: if copper prices continue to decline, earlier priced orders may face delays in cargo pick-up. Although industry operating rates will see a short-term rebound, the extent of the increase is likely to fall short of market expectations.