SMM News Release, June 22 According to customs data, China’s total exports of tungsten smelting products and tungsten materials reached approximately 1,063.6 tons in May 2026, down 11.9% month-on-month and 17.9% year-on-year.

[SMM Magnesium Weekly Review: Supply-Demand Tug-of-War Intensifies, Magnesium Ingot Market Remains in the Doldrums ] This week, China’s magnesium ingot market drifted lower overall. Fugu and Shenmu 99.90% magnesium ingot quotes were at 15,950-16,050 yuan/mt, down 350 yuan/mt on the week. After the holiday, market pessimism spread; smelters were active in selling, while downstream only made just-in-time procurement. Amid strong supply and weak demand, prices continued to decline gradually. The average FOB price at Tianjin port was $2,365/mt. China’s smelters struggled to hold prices firm, and FOB offers adjusted downward in tandem. Outside China, as the summer break approaches, new orders were scarce, and foreign trade was sluggish. Dolomite cost support was limited. Magnesium powder and magnesium alloy weakened in tandem. Weak downstream demand in the off-season dragged on the market. In the short term, magnesium ingot will remain in a weak consolidation.

According to SMM statistics, China’s exports of NdFeB magnets totaled 4,730 tons in May 2026, marking a month-on-month decline of 7.72%. However, volumes surged by 281.84% year-on-year. The sharp YoY increase is primarily attributed to a low base effect caused by export controls in May 2025. The MoM drop, meanwhile, reflects both seasonal weakness in overseas demand and tangible changes in domestic export licensing procedures.

Refined cobalt: This week, spot prices for refined cobalt remained in the doldrums, with futures prices continuously putting pressure on the spot market. Supply side, mainstream smelters lowered their ex-factory quotations to 385,000 yuan/mt. After the deep price decline, most traders suspended external quotations, and wait-and-see sentiment dominated the market. Demand side, the rush-to-buy-amid-continuous-price-rise-and-hold-back-amid-price-downturn mentality continued to restrain downstream procurement pace. Alloy enterprises maintained a wait-and-see stance and postponed restocking, while some magnetic material enterprises released procurement demand in small quantities near 380,000 yuan/mt to restock opportunistically. In the short term, futures will remain volatile and under pressure. Two conditions are needed for refined cobalt prices to stabilize: first, market funding pressure eases and low-price selling declines; second, prices of cobalt salt and related products stop falling and stabilize, providing market confidence support. Cobalt intermediate products: This week, the cobalt intermediate product market continued to fluctuate, with little change in the price center. Supply side, mainstream miners and traders kept their offers steady at around $25.5/lb, but downstream smelters remained conservative in purchasing, with intended purchase prices generally below $25/lb. Some smelters even planned to sell their intermediate products at $24.8-24.9/lb and switch to purchasing low-priced recycled black mass to control production costs. Logistics side, since May, some Chinese miners have gradually increased chartered shipments, and some leading miners have gradually resumed shipments since June. Port arrivals of intermediate products are expected to trend slowly upward in the coming months and are likely to see concentrated arrivals in batches after August. In the short term, with insufficient end-use demand support, prices will likely continue to move sideways. If the market is to strengthen later, a resonance between downstream operating rate recovery and cobalt salt price repair is still needed. Cobalt sulphate: This week, trading atmosphere in the cobalt sulphate market remained sluggish, with the spot price center slowly edging lower. Supply side, performance continued to diverge: primary smelters' quotations remained relatively firm, with mainstream producers still holding their minimum intended selling price above 85,000 yuan/mt; some recycling smelters and traders, under cash flow pressure, continued to lower offers to 80,000-81,000 yuan/mt. Demand side, the continuous decline in prices has dampened downstream stockpiling confidence, and enterprises' psychological price levels mostly concentrate at 79,000-80,000 yuan/mt. Although some downstream intended purchase prices have now converged with the lowest sellers' offers in the market, because the low-priced cargoes have not yet fully matched downstream requirements in terms of commercial terms and product quality, bulk transactions remain limited. In the short term, the soft pattern of cobalt sulphate prices is unlikely to be fundamentally reversed. Market stabilization and recovery still await substantial realization of downstream concentrated restocking demand. SMM New Energy Research Team Wang Cong 021-51666838 Ma Rui 021-51595780 Feng Disheng 021-51666714 Lyu Yanlin 021-20707875 Xiao Wenhao 021-51666872 Zhang Haohan 021-51666752 Wang Zihan 021-51666914 Wang Jie 021-51595902 Xu Yang 021-51666760 Yang Lianting 021-51595835 Wang Zhaoyu 021-51666827

[SMM Steel] According to market feedback, the CIF price for HRC SAE1006, size 3.0*1250*C, is currently $550/mt. The shipping port is Jingtang Port, and the destination country is Turkey.

POSCO said Wednesday it streamlined its product line into eight 'strategic steels' run under a new 'One Team' structure that breaks internal divisional silos, with each team handling the full chain from R&D to sales. The eight include stainless steel for next-generation growth markets, PosMAC, high-manganese steel, premium EAF steel, energy heavy plates, electrical steel, GigaSteel and HyperNO. Pohang will anchor energy steels—including high-strength stainless—while Gwangyang focuses on automotive and new-mobility grades. POSCO framed the revamp as a response to rising low-priced imports into Korea and trade barriers abroad, after US tariffs cut its US exports 8% year-on-year, and tied it to Korea's new K-Steel Act—signaling a pivot toward premium specialty products, stainless among them.

Indian stainless steel MSMEs and industry bodies flagged a sharp jump in imports after a quality-control (QCO/BIS) exemption lapsed, urging the government to reinstate the Quality Control Order. Citing official data, they said stainless imports hit 101,252 mt in April 2026, up 65% from 61,143 mt a year earlier and 69% above March's 59,917 mt, and warned volumes could climb further without intervention. The exemption—covering 200- and 300-series flat products (standards IS 6911, IS 5522, IS 15997) for shipments loaded by 31 March 2026—was meant to ease MSME raw-material access but is seen as enabling cheap, often Chinese, inflows. Reinstating the QCO would tighten 200/300-series flat imports and adds to New Delhi's broader steel-protection push.

Under the EU's new steel trade regime, importers must prove the 'country of melt and pour'—where steel or iron was first produced in liquid form and cast into its first solid state—to improve supply-chain traceability. Evidence such as a mill test certificate is required from 1 October 2026; melt-and-pour data will feed into country quota distribution from 1 October 2027; and by 30 June 2028 the Commission will assess whether to make melt-and-pour the basis for quota eligibility, possibly via a legislative proposal. The rule targets origin-washing, raising the cost of routing non-EU steel—including Chinese stainless—through third countries to dodge quotas and duties.

The EU's new steel trade regime (Regulation 2026/1384) applies from 1 July 2026, replacing the 2019 safeguard that expires 30 June and lifting the out-of-quota duty to 50% from 25%. Within an 18.35 million-tonne total annual tariff-rate quota, stainless gets category-specific caps: cold-rolled sheets and strips 496,342 t, hot-rolled sheets and strips 153,186 t, hot-rolled quarto plate 17,025 t, bars and light sections 133,595 t, wire rod 40,462 t, and seamless tubes and pipes 32,967 t—about 873,577 t of stainless in total. Quotas run 1 July–30 June and are administered quarterly. Once a category's quota fills, further imports face the 50% duty, double the prior 25% penalty, tightening access for non-EU stainless.

Japan preliminarily determined to impose anti-dumping duties on nickel-bearing cold-rolled stainless steel coil, sheet and strip from China and Taiwan, after finding the imports were dumped and caused material injury to domestic producers. Trade minister Ryosei Akazawa said rates could reach about 45% for Chinese goods and about 21% for Taiwanese goods, with duties possibly taking effect as soon as July. The case, jointly run by METI and the Finance Ministry, began in July 2025 on a complaint led by Nippon Steel and Nippon Yakin Kogyo. China supplies about 20% of Japan's steel-product imports and Taiwan 17%. The measure would close an export outlet for Chinese and Taiwanese 300-series CR stainless amid global overcapacity, likely diverting tonnage to Southeast Asia and other markets.