Editor's Note: A review of the H1 rare earth market shows it was a case of "you reap what you sow." The rare earth sector drifted higher overall, with performance varying across products. Pr-Nd oxide gained 22.42% in H1, dysprosium oxide rose 5.97%, and terbium oxide gained 8.37%. With a rising tide lifting all boats, higher rare earth prices directly boosted operating earnings at companies along the industry chain. According to SMM, the 10 rare earth-related companies that have disclosed semi-annual reports, preliminary results, or earnings forecasts all achieved varying degrees of earnings growth in H1. The market is now awaiting demand to materialize in the traditional peak season. As summer gives way to autumn, can rare earth prices extend their H1 gains in H2, and what market conditions will upstream and downstream players in the rare earth industry chain face? Multiple Rare Earth Companies Report Positive H1 Results The H1 earnings forecast disclosed by Zhongxi Nonferrous Metals on the evening of July 13 showed that, based on preliminary estimates by the company's financial department, the company expects net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company in H1 2026 to be RMB370 million to RMB430 million, an increase of RMB297.5013 million to RMB357.5013 million compared with the same period last year, up 410.35% to 493.11% YoY. The company also expects net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company after deducting non-recurring gains and losses in H1 2026 to be RMB368.0027 million to RMB428.0027 million, an increase of RMB276.2326 million to RMB336.2326 million compared with the same period last year, up 301.00% to 366.39% YoY. As for the main reasons for the expected earnings growth, Zhongxi Nonferrous Metals said: (1) In H1 2026, the supply-demand pattern of the rare earth industry changed and prices of major rare earth products rose YoY. By adopting an innovative integrated operating model to coordinate raw material procurement for rare earth separation plants and sales of all products, and by analyzing market supply-demand changes to dynamically adjust its product output mix, the company significantly increased the operating value of its core rare earth business. (2) The company made substantial progress in loss-making enterprise restructuring and deepened reform, with resources further concentrated in its core main business and competitive operations, and losses at loss-making enterprises narrowed significantly YoY. (3) Its associated company Dabaoshan Company maintained stable and high production; sales volumes and prices of copper and sulfur products both increased YoY, boosting Dabaoshan's profit, and the company's investment income recognized under the equity method increased accordingly. The H1 earnings forecast disclosed by Huahong Technology on the evening of July 13 showed that the company expects net profit attributable to the parent company in H1 2026 to be RMB320 million to RMB360 million, up 301.84%-352.08% YoY. Regarding the reasons for the performance change, Huahong Technology said: In H1 2026, benefiting from industry policies and a pickup in downstream demand, prices of major rare earth products in China climbed steadily. The company's rare earth resource comprehensive utilization segment seized market opportunities, fully leveraged its comprehensive advantages in capacity scale, cost control, and process technology, and continuously optimized supply, production, and sales coordination and inventory management strategies, effectively driving the full release of the segment's profitability. The company continued to deepen its layout across the rare earth industry chain, while its downstream rare earth permanent magnet materials business expanded steadily. Benefiting from steady demand in end-use sectors such as NEVs, wind power, and industrial automation, this business segment continued to expand its business scale, with revenue and product mix continuously optimized, and became an important supplement to performance growth. The semi-annual earnings forecast released by Xiamen Tungsten showed that, according to preliminary calculations by the finance department, net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company for H1 2026 was expected to be approximately 2,216.0318 million yuan, up approximately 1,246.7133 million yuan from the same period last year, equivalent to an increase of approximately 128.62% YoY. According to preliminary calculations by the finance department, net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company for H1 2026, excluding non-recurring gains and losses, was expected to be approximately 2,176.0263 million yuan, up approximately 1,253.4882 million yuan from the same period last year, equivalent to an increase of approximately 135.87% YoY. Regarding the main reasons for the expected performance growth in the period, Xiamen Tungsten explained: In H1, facing a market environment in which prices of major raw materials such as tungsten, cobalt, lithium carbonate, and Pr-Nd oxide rose YoY and swung wildly, the company responded proactively, dynamically adjusted its operating strategy, and drove a corresponding increase in product selling prices. Meanwhile, it continued to improve product quality and market development capabilities, and sales of main products such as alloy bars, cutting tools, power battery cathode materials, and magnetic materials grew steadily. Profitability of the company's three core businesses—tungsten and molybdenum, new energy materials, and rare earths—improved to varying degrees. Ningbo Yunsheng disclosed its earnings forecast on the evening of July 14, which showed that, according to preliminary calculations by the finance department, net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company for H1 2026 was expected to be between 240 million yuan and 310 million yuan, an increase of between 132.1657 million yuan and 202.1657 million yuan compared with the same period last year (statutorily disclosed data), up 122.56% to 187.48% YoY. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company after deducting non-recurring profit or loss for H1 2026 is expected to be RMB210 million to RMB280 million, an increase of RMB121.3954 million to RMB191.3954 million compared with the same period last year (statutorily disclosed data), up 137.01% to 216.01% YoY. Ningbo Yunsheng explained that the main reasons for the projected profit increase were as follows: during the reporting period, the company adhered to customer demand orientation, focused deeply on NEV, consumer electronics, industrial and other application fields, actively explored emerging and regional markets, seized development opportunities from new projects, continuously optimized its business mix, and increased the share of revenue from outside China. Meanwhile, the company continued to deepen refined management, which lifted product gross margins and thus increased net profit. The H1 earnings forecast released by China Northern Rare Earth shows that, based on a preliminary estimate by the company's finance department, net profit attributable to owners of the parent company for H1 2026 is expected to be RMB1.98 billion to RMB2.06 billion, an increase of RMB1.05 billion to RMB1.13 billion compared with the same period last year (statutorily disclosed data), up 112.74% to 121.33% YoY. Net profit attributable to owners of the parent company after deducting non-recurring profit or loss for H1 2026 is expected to be RMB1.99 billion to RMB2.07 billion, an increase of RMB1.093 billion to RMB1.173 billion compared with the same period last year (statutorily disclosed data), up 121.90% to 130.82% YoY. Main Reasons for the Projected Profit Increase in the Period: In H1 2026, the company supported the national rare earth resource strategy and fully implemented safety and control requirements across the rare earth industry chain. Driven by factors such as constrained raw material supply and the multi-point release and sustained growth of downstream demand, rare earth product prices showed an overall strengthening trend and consolidated. Centering on its annual production and operation targets, the company planned comprehensively and implemented a combination of measures, strengthened overall budget management, coordinated cost reduction, quality improvement and efficiency gains, scientifically organized production and scheduling, intensified marketing operations, deepened reform and innovation, strengthened group management and risk prevention and control, promoted the high-quality in-depth integration of professional management, lean management and 5S management, advanced key project construction, accelerated the development of new quality productive forces through management and research innovation, and, with sound industry chain value creation capability and core competitiveness, provided solid support and guarantee for its good operating results. The company scientifically refined its production organization and operations; production of rare earth smelting and separation products, rare earth metal products and new rare earth materials all reached record highs for the same period in history; the company's subsidiary Inner Mongolia Northern Rare Earth Magnetic Materials Co., Ltd. achieved operating revenue of approximately RMB9.5 billion in H1, up about 107% YoY, maintaining growth momentum for three consecutive years; its subsidiary Inner Mongolia Xikeao Hydrogen Storage Alloy Co., Ltd. officially put its first batch of 1,000 hydrogen-powered two-wheelers into operation in Baotou, with cumulative safe driving mileage reaching 170,000 km; the project has achieved notable demonstration results. The Company persisted in benchmarking against advanced peers both internally and externally to tap internal potential, strengthened refined management, and significantly improved a number of economic and technical indicators. It implemented targeted measures across each business segment: the smelting and separation segment overcame new changes in production costs brought by rising raw and auxiliary material prices, effectively controlled cost fluctuations, scientifically organized production and scheduling, and ensured new product supply needs; the rare earth metals segment took the strengthening of lean production concepts as its focus, used digital and intelligent means to further strengthen on-site process operation management, and drove new breakthroughs in economic and technical indicators such as quality and material consumption ratio; the rare earth new materials and applications segment fully leveraged its new capacity advantage, precisely matched customer demand, and achieved new progress in driving sales through production. It deepened industry chain coordination and linkage, and on the basis of ensuring stable product supply, consolidated the foundation of downstream customer cooperation. Shenghe Resources released its H1 earnings preview on July 10, which showed: according to preliminary estimates by the company's finance department, net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company for H1 2026 is expected to be 800 million yuan to 930 million yuan, an increase of 423.0938 million yuan to 553.0938 million yuan compared to the same period last year, up 112.25% to 146.75% YoY. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company excluding non-recurring items for H1 2026 is expected to be 790 million yuan to 920 million yuan, an increase of 426.487 million yuan to 556.487 million yuan compared to the same period last year, up 117.32% to 153.09% YoY. Regarding the main reasons for the expected earnings growth in the current period, Shenghe Resources said: During the reporting period, affected by factors such as rare earth industry policies and downstream demand, overall market demand for major rare earth products improved, and product prices and average selling prices rose significantly compared to the previous year. The company seized market opportunities, optimized its production and sales mix, strengthened management empowerment and cost control, and thereby drove substantial earnings growth. China Rare Earth said in its recently released semi-annual report: In H1, the supply-demand pattern of the rare earth industry continued to be adjusted and optimized. Supported by multiple favorable factors such as rare earth industry policies and stronger downstream demand, the market overall trended upward, and Pr-Nd product prices rose significantly compared to the same period last year. The company followed its annual work deployment, anchored its goals and added more pressure, seized the momentum and strived for excellence, strengthened Party building leadership, and focused on six key tasks including resource assurance, efficient operations, technological innovation, project construction, deepening reform, and capacity building. It made targeted efforts and achieved notable phased results, simultaneously improved operational quality and efficiency, successfully completed all operational targets and tasks, and vigorously created a new situation of high-quality leapfrog development, laying the foundation for a good start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period. In H1 , the company achieved revenue of 1.647 billion yuan, net profit of 237 million yuan attributable to shareholders of the listed company, up 46.53% YoY, and net profit of 240 million yuan attributable to shareholders of the listed company after deducting non-recurring gains and losses, up 55.49% YoY. The H1 earnings forecast disclosed by Tianhe Magnetics on July 9 showed that, based on preliminary estimates by its financial department, the company expected net profit attributable to owners of the parent company for H1 2026 to be between 73 million yuan and 93 million yuan, an increase of 19.5448 million yuan to 39.5448 million yuan compared with the same period last year (statutory disclosed data), up 36.56% to 73.98% YoY. It also expected net profit attributable to owners of the parent company after deducting non-recurring gains and losses for H1 2026 to be between 68 million yuan and 88 million yuan, an increase of 32.5723 million yuan to 52.5723 million yuan compared with the same period last year (statutory disclosed data), up 91.94% to 148.39% YoY. Regarding the main reasons for the expected H1 profit growth, Tianhe Magnetics said: 1. In H1, raw material prices fluctuated at high levels overall. The company optimized pricing strategies for some existing and new orders and raised product selling prices. 2. In 2026, the company proactively seized market opportunities, conducted sales efforts centered on "focusing on emerging markets, deepening customer relationships, and optimizing channel layout," achieved dual-driver growth in both international and domestic markets, and delivered notable results in market development. Overall operating revenue is expected to increase by about 30% YoY, with domestic business revenue expected to increase by about 50% YoY. 3. During the reporting period, non-recurring gains and losses are expected to have an impact of approximately 5 million yuan on net profit, compared with after-tax non-recurring gains and losses of 18.0275 million yuan in the same period last year. The H1 earnings forecast released by JL MAG Rare-Earth on July 1 showed that net profit attributable to the parent company for H1 2026 was expected to be between 400 million yuan and 460 million yuan, up 31.17%-50.84% YoY. Regarding the reasons for the performance change, JL MAG Rare-Earth said in its announcement: 1. In H1 2026, the company's management upheld the annual operating policy of "staying law-abiding and compliant, remaining customer-oriented, focusing on the core magnetic materials business, building 20,000 mt of capacity on schedule, proactively positioning in motor rotors for embodied robots, and scaling new heights." Through technological innovation, organizational optimization, digital development, lean management, and other measures, the company made every effort to ensure delivery to customers in accordance with contracts while achieving steady development of its operating performance. The company continued to consolidate its leading position in new energy, energy conservation and environmental protection, actively expanded into emerging markets, and expects operating revenue to increase by about 30% YoY. Within this, revenue in the NEV and auto parts segment is expected to increase by about 30% YoY; revenue in the robotics and industrial servo motor segment is expected to increase by about 90% YoY, and embodied robot motor rotor products have already seen small-batch deliveries. 2. During the reporting period, the impact of non-recurring items on net profit is expected to be approximately RMB32 million, compared with after-tax non-recurring items of RMB70.9405 million in the same period last year. 3. In the current reporting period, due to A-share and H-share equity incentives and the issuance of H-share convertible bonds, related share-based payment expenses, financial expenses, and other expenses totaled approximately RMB121 million; no such expenses occurred in the same period last year. The H1 2026 results flash released by Zhong Ke San Huan on the evening of July 20 showed that, in H1, the company achieved operating revenue of RMB3,613.7721 million, up 23.67% YoY; total profit of RMB102.8001 million, up 1.18% YoY; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of RMB49.2189 million, up 11.88% from the same period last year; and, after deducting non-recurring items such as government subsidies, net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company excluding non-recurring items of RMB32.3035 million, up 2.25% from the same period last year. Zhong Ke San Huan's semiannual results flash showed that in H1 2026, amid increasingly intense market competition and a complex and volatile external environment, with the joint efforts of all employees, the company's core product sales volume grew YoY; through cost-reduction measures such as optimizing formulation processes and reducing heavy rare earth usage, it drove the overall gross margin up YoY. Some subsidiaries improved operations, reducing losses or turning losses into profits; meanwhile, the company further improved inventory management, optimized the inventory structure of key raw materials, and reduced asset impairment losses YoY. Affected by the appreciation of the RMB against the US dollar and the euro, the company incurred foreign exchange losses during the reporting period, and financial expenses increased YoY, partially offsetting profit growth. In H1 This Year, Pr-Nd Oxide Rose 22.42%; Dysprosium Oxide and Terbium Oxide Both Increased In H1 2026, the rare earth oxide market experienced a "sharp rise—plunge—recovery—further divergence" roller-coaster ride. Pr-Nd oxide prices were the most volatile; dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide prices first rose, then fell, and then rebounded. A review of the H1 price trends of Pr-Nd oxide, dysprosium oxide, and terbium oxide shows the following: Pr-Nd oxide's average price on June 30 was 742,500 yuan/mt, up 136,000 yuan/mt from 606,500 yuan/mt on December 31, 2025, an H1 increase of 22.42%. Meanwhile, the H1 average daily price of Pr-Nd oxide this year was 740,530.17 yuan/mt, up 3,095,771.8 yuan/mt YoY from 430,952.99 yuan/mt in H1 2025, representing a YoY increase of 71.84%. Dysprosium oxide's average price on June 30 was 1,420 yuan/kg, up 80 yuan/kg from 1,340 yuan/kg on December 31, 2025, an H1 increase of 5.97%. Comparing dysprosium oxide's average daily price of 1,394.09 yuan/kg in H1 this year with 1,660.26 yuan/kg in H1 2025 shows that its H1 average daily price fell 16.03% YoY. Terbium oxide's average price on June 30 was 6,475 yuan/kg, up 500 yuan/kg from 5,975 yuan/kg on December 31, 2025, an H1 increase of 8.37%. Comparing terbium oxide's average daily price of 6,200.26 yuan/kg in H1 this year with 6,634.62 yuan/kg in H1 2025 shows that its H1 average daily price fell 6.55% YoY. Since the start of August, the rare earth market has remained in a sideways pattern amid the tug-of-war between upstream and downstream. At present, downstream inquiry and buying interest is limited, inquiry activity remains relatively thin, overall trading sentiment is sluggish, and rare earth prices have continued to diverge: in the Pr-Nd market, affected by continued pullbacks in futures prices, some suppliers have slightly lowered their offers; medium-heavy rare earth prices have shown strong resilience and remained broadly stable. In the short term, affected by the stalemate in market trading, Pr-Nd product prices are expected to continue moving sideways. Over the medium and long term, SMM expects that the overall supply of Pr-Nd oxide in 2026 will remain on the tight side, but with new capacity gradually coming on stream in H2 and previously uncommissioned smelting and separation capacity planned to start production, pressure from a loosening supply side may emerge later on. On the demand side, rising toll-processing orders at metal plants in Inner Mongolia will provide some rigid demand support for Pr-Nd oxide. As the traditional "September-October peak season" approaches, the market holds strong expectations for downstream restocking and stockpiling, and end-use demand still has a considerable number of NEV orders to be released in H2. The industrial robot sector remains buoyant, and demand for rare earth permanent magnets is expected to show a notable YoY increase this year. Meanwhile, although emerging sectors such as humanoid robots and the low-altitude economy are developing rapidly and have ample long-term growth potential, they are still in the early stages of industry development, and their actual incremental contribution to rare earth permanent magnets remains limited for now. Whether peak-season demand expectations materialize and the pace of new capacity release will be key variables shaping rare earth market trends ahead. Views from Various Parties According to a Datong Securities research report from August 11, rare earth spot prices pulled back in the short term and downstream magnetic material enterprises were cautious in procurement. However, with supply constrained by three factors—tighter mining quotas, escalated export controls, and production cuts in scrap recycling—along with restocking demand outside China, the strategic revaluation logic had not been shaken. Overall, policy controls and demand from emerging industries drove the minor metals sector; the commodity and financial attributes of scarce resources reinforced each other, and the valuation recovery rally continued. A China Securities research report said, citing data from the General Administration of Customs, that rare earth exports fell markedly in July while average prices rose. July rare earth exports were 4,223.5 mt, down 29.54% YoY and 17.26% MoM, the lowest monthly level since March; cumulative January-July exports were 34,706.3 mt, down 10% YoY. However, the corresponding average export price was $12.34/kg, surging 103.14% YoY, with the export mix tilting toward high-value medium-heavy rare earth products. Markets outside China accepted high-priced raw materials, and the tight global rare earth supply pattern continued. There was no incremental rare earth supply for now; separation enterprises were producing steadily; previously suspended enterprises had no plans to resume production for now; downstream rigid demand provided moderate support; and long-term demand expectations were improving. Rare earth prices are expected to consolidate on a strong note in the near term. A CITIC Securities research report said that, against a backdrop of quota constraints and falling imports, rare earth supply rigidity continued to strengthen. Affected by stricter tax policies, operating rates at scrap recycling enterprises remained persistently low. Rigid-demand restocking along the industry chain, together with the approaching peak season, is expected to drive a demand recovery. Emerging fields such as robotics, the low-altitude economy, and industrial motors are expected to open up long-term demand growth. The rare earth industry's supply-demand pattern may remain tight. Driven by rising prices, H1 earnings at rare earth industry chain companies are expected to beat expectations. CITIC Securities continued to recommend the strategic allocation value of the rare earth industry chain. Recommended Reading: For more fundamental, technical, and policy information on motor raw materials such as rare earth, copper, and aluminum, please join: ~

According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on August 12, 2026, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun took questions from journalists. EFE Reporter: Reports say Chinese automaker SAIC Group plans to build its first European plant in Ferrol, Spain. Given the site’s proximity to local sensitive military and ship‑building facilities, the Spanish government is assessing the investment project from perspectives including economy, industry, employment and national security. What is China’s comment? Guo Jiakun: China has taken note of positive remarks made by Spain’s central and local governments. China is ready to further deepen practical cooperation between the two countries under the principles of mutual respect and mutual benefit. It hopes the Spanish side will provide a fair, just and non‑discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises.

This week, platinum and palladium retreated after a rapid rise and then consolidated at highs. Weaker nonfarm payrolls and a mild pullback in CPI fueled a cooling of rate-hike expectations. However, the US and Iran became embroiled in a compensation dispute and the strait remained closed. Together with technical resistance and profit-taking, prices came under pressure and pulled back. Spot market quotes were marked by relative involution, and consumption remained subdued.

SMM, August 13: Metals market: As of the midday close, domestic base metals were mostly lower. SHFE copper fell 0.5%, SHFE aluminum fell 0.9%, SHFE lead rose 0.63%, SHFE zinc fell 0.27%, SHFE tin fell 0.86%, and SHFE nickel fell 0.16%. In addition, the most-traded cast aluminum futures contract fell 1.33%, the most-traded alumina contract fell 1.62%, the most-traded lithium carbonate contract was flat at 148,840 yuan/mt, the most-traded silicon metal contract fell 0.64%, and the most-traded polysilicon futures contract rose 0.75%. Ferrous metals all fell. Iron ore fell 0.14%, rebar fell 0.5%, hot-rolled coil fell 0.37%, and stainless steel fell 0.93%. Coking coal and coke: the most-traded coking coal contract fell 1.27%, and the most-traded coke contract fell 0.73%. Overseas base metals: as of 11:45, LME metals were nearly all lower. LME copper fell 0.2%, LME aluminum fell 0.89%, LME zinc fell 0.4%, LME tin fell 0.18%, LME nickel fell 0.59%, and LME lead rose 0.21%. Precious metals: as of 11:45, COMEX gold rose 0.02%, and COMEX silver fell 0.08%. Domestic precious metals: SHFE gold rose 0.34%, and the most-traded SHFE silver contract rose 0.28%. Additionally, as of the midday close, the most-traded platinum futures contract fell 0.52%, and the most-traded palladium futures contract fell 0.57%. As of the midday close, the most-traded European container shipping futures contract rose 1.75% to 1,630 points. As of 11:45 on August 13, midday quotes for selected futures: Spot and fundamentals Copper: Today, Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot prices against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was quoted at a discount of 20 yuan/mt, down 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was quoted at a discount of 120 yuan/mt, down 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; and SX-EW copper was quoted at a discount of 200 yuan/mt, down 60 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 108,250 yuan/mt, down 160 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, and the average price of SX-EW copper was 108,100 yuan/mt, down 200 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot market: Guangdong inventories fell for two consecutive days, with arrivals declining and warehouse withdrawals increasing slightly... Macro front China: [China Is Formulating a New Round of Action Plans for Continuous Air Quality Improvement] The State Council Information Office held a themed press conference today (13th) in the series "Opening and Starting the '15th Five-Year Plan'." At the press conference, it was noted that China has made gratifying progress in air pollution control, but there is still no room for complacency or letting up; patience and resolve must be maintained. Currently, a new round of action plans for the continuous improvement of air quality is being expedited, and the battle to keep skies blue will focus on being "higher, more precise, and more scientific." (CCTV News) [Cumulative Trading Volume of the National Carbon Emissions Trading Market Tops 900 Million mt] Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment, said at the "Launching the 15th Five-Year Plan" press conference series held by the State Council Information Office on August 13 that by the end of July, cumulative trading volume in the national carbon emissions trading market had exceeded 930 million mt, effectively promoting the green and low-carbon transition while driving low-cost carbon reduction across industries. (Xinhua News Agency) [Shanghai: Promote Issuance of "Computing Power Vouchers," "Model Vouchers," and "Corpus Vouchers" to Reduce the Cost of Using Digital Factors Such as Public Data, Computing Power, Models, and Corpora] Shanghai issued the "Shanghai Action Plan for Implementing the Several Measures on Further Promoting Private Investment Development." The plan states that Shanghai will provide computing power subsidies in accordance with laws and regulations, support private enterprises in renting intelligent computing resources for the R&D, training, and application of large models, and encourage universities, research institutions, and state-owned enterprises to use data storage and computing power resources built by various market entities, including private enterprises. It will publish and dynamically update the public data opening list, support private enterprises in the in-depth development and scenario-based use of specific public data, and promote the issuance of "computing power vouchers," "model vouchers," and "corpus vouchers" to reduce the cost of using digital factors such as public data, computing power, models, and corpora. It will cultivate benchmark and platform enterprises for urban digital transformation, and guide private enterprises to participate in the construction and scenario operation of digital transformation projects in areas such as transportation, logistics, and public services. It also encourages private enterprises to build demonstration projects of new-type infrastructure such as blockchain applications and large-scale robot applications. (Jin10 Data APP) [PBOC Reverse Repo Operations Post Net Withdrawal of CNY1 Billion on the Day] The PBOC did not conduct reverse repo operations today, as CNY1 billion in 7-day reverse repos matured, resulting in a net withdrawal of CNY1 billion on the day. On the Dollar Side: As of 11:45, the US dollar index was up 0.01% at 100. US core inflation in July was mild, which likely eased pressure on the US Fed to raise interest rates. Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday showed that, excluding volatile food and energy categories, core CPI rose 0.2% MoM in July. The YoY increase was 2.5%, matching the slowest pace since March 2021. Overall, July CPI rose 0.1% MoM and 3.4% YoY. This report indicated that the energy price shock from the Iran war continued to fade in July. As the US Fed discusses whether to raise rates at its September meeting, these figures may give the US Fed more room to weigh inflation pressures against the recent slowdown in hiring. Before the September meeting, policymakers will also see more reports on employment and inflation, while investors will closely watch a speech that Fed Chairman Warsh is expected to deliver at the annual Jackson Hole symposium later this month. US stock index futures rose, while US Treasury yields were basically flat. Investors lowered their bets on a September rate hike. According to CME "FedWatch": the probability that the US Fed will keep rates unchanged by September is 59.9%, and the probability of a cumulative 25bp rate hike is 40.1%. By October, the probability that the US Fed will keep rates unchanged is 45.3%, the probability of a cumulative 25bp rate hike is 44.9%, and the probability of a cumulative 50bp rate hike is 9.8%. (Jin10 Data App) A CITIC Securities research report said that US July CPI was fully in line with expectations, core inflation remained mild, and second-round inflation effects were modest, which helped further ease market concerns about inflation risks. We continue to believe that US inflation is not sticky, and we expect headline CPI YoY growth to generally continue its mild slowdown trend in Q3 and hit bottom in September, then rebound slightly in Q4 this year and decline rapidly in March next year. We still expect the US Fed to keep rates unchanged for the whole year, and there is further room for downward revision in rate hike expectations priced into derivatives markets. A CICC research report said that US July CPI rose 0.1% MoM on a seasonally adjusted basis and 3.4% YoY, while core CPI rose 0.2% MoM and 2.5% YoY, all in line with market expectations. Energy prices continued to pull back, but international oil prices have risen again since August, increasing uncertainty about future energy prices. On the core inflation front, goods were strong while services were weak; in particular, prices of information technology products such as computers and software continued to rise, reflecting that the supply-demand mismatch caused by AI capital spending expansion is gradually transmitting to the consumer side. We believe US inflation may have entered a new phase, with its drivers gradually shifting from supply shocks such as tariffs and oil prices to demand expansion from AI investment, and the duration of inflation may be correspondingly prolonged. For the US Fed, this data eased near-term pressure to raise rates, but compared with supply-driven inflation, demand-pull inflation requires more attention from policymakers. Other currencies: RBA Assistant Governor Kent said that Australian monetary policy is currently restrictive, the three consecutive rate hikes early this year are now weighing on the economy, and the stronger Australian dollar has further reinforced this effect. He said: "Evidence suggests that monetary policy in Australia is somewhat restrictive, and the tightening earlier this year is working. Borrowing costs have risen, mortgage repayments have increased, conditions in the established housing market have weakened, and the Australian dollar has also appreciated year-to-date." He said aggregate demand growth appears to be slowing, adding that this is what policymakers want to see and is necessary to bring inflation back to target. (Jin10 Data APP) Data Front: Today will bring the US 10-year Treasury auction high yield and bid-to-cover ratio for Aug 12, US initial jobless claims for the week ending Aug 8, US July PPI y/y and m/m, UK Q2 GDP y/y preliminary, UK June three-month GDP m/m, UK June manufacturing production m/m, UK June seasonally adjusted goods trade balance, UK June industrial production m/m, and Eurozone June industrial production m/m, among others. In addition, JD.com will hold its Q2 earnings call; 2026 FOMC voter and Cleveland Fed President Hammack will speak, and 2027 FOMC voter and Richmond Fed President Barkin will speak on the economic outlook. Crude Oil: As of 11:45, both benchmark oil prices fell, with WTI down 0.96% and Brent down 0.82%. Oil prices edged down as traders waited for signs of progress on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. On the Middle East front, there has been almost no sign of progress on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. US President Trump said the United States has "complete control" over the waterway. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that as the US-Iran war continues, the global oil market faces a supply shortfall of 1.8 million barrels per day this quarter, more than double its earlier forecast; the 2026 oil supply gap could reach its largest level in five years. According to the American Automobile Association, gasoline and diesel prices in the US have never been this high at this time of year. (Jin10 Data APP) Spot Market at a Glance: ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ►

[SMM Tin Midday Review: US July CPI at 3.4% in Line with Market Expectations, Tin Price Center Pulled Back, Stimulating Some Rigid Demand]

The EU's new End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation entered into force on August 13, introducing requirements aimed at recovering high-quality copper, aluminium, steel and rare earths from scrapped vehicles and returning them to the EU circular economy. The regulation will apply from September 2028, with treatment requirements starting in September 2029. Europe generates around 10–12 million end-of-life vehicles annually.

[SMM Lead Morning Meeting Minutes: Macro Tailwinds Boost Lead Prices; Watch for Risks of a Retreat After Rapid Rise Amid Tug-of-War between Sellers and Buyers] The macro front saw mixed signals. A weaker US dollar lifted base metals broadly, and lead prices may continue to consolidate at highs. Fundamentals side, supply-side expectations for production cuts remain...

SMM, August 12: Foxconn Industrial Internet’s semi-annual report posted substantial profit growth, further confirming the strong momentum of AI computing infrastructure and driving a recovery in sentiment across the high-speed interconnect industry chain. Against the backdrop of expanding computing power, high-speed copper cables have drawn attention from some market funds as a key short-range interconnect solution for AI servers. At the same time, SMM observes that the installation rush for power batteries, high prosperity in energy storage, and surging AI computing-end demand have collectively driven an ongoing climb in operating rates in the copper foil industry. As of the close on August 12, the high-speed copper cable concept rose 2.22%. Among individual stocks, Taichenguang and Hengdongguang jumped over 6%, while the biggest gainers included Xianying Technology, Ruikeda, Dingtong Technology, Far East, Changxin Bochuang, ZTT, and Zhaolong Interconnect. Market News [Shanghai: Build 100,000-card-level ultra-large intelligent computing clusters in Songjiang, Lingang, Qingpu, etc.] The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization issued the “15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Software and Information Services Industry in Shanghai.” The plan mentions creating a tiered supply system that synergizes “large clusters + small clusters + edge computing,” building 100,000-card-level ultra-large-scale intelligent computing clusters in Songjiang, Lingang, and Qingpu, and constructing 1,000-card-level clusters in Baoshan, Pudong, and Jiading. It guides the transformation of traditional data centers and ICT server rooms into 100-card-level edge intelligent computing centers to meet ultra-low-latency computing demands from enterprises and individuals. Focusing on industries such as finance, education, healthcare, culture and tourism, and manufacturing, the plan supports building Model as a Service (MaaS) platforms, providing industry application marketplaces, model customization and hosting, agent building, low-code development, API interfaces, computing power provision and management, and AI inference services, thereby upgrading intelligent computing cloud service capabilities. It also highlights tackling next-generation model architectures and promoting exploration of multiple technology routes based on non-Transformer architectures such as state space models, recurrent neural network variants, and liquid neural networks. Efforts will be accelerated to lay out technology systems for cutting-edge foundation models, including physical intelligence, world models, quantum intelligence, and brain-inspired intelligence. The plan further addresses breakthroughs in networking technologies for ultra-large-scale intelligent computing clusters, focusing on core segments such as high-performance computing chips (GPU/NPU), quantum chips (QPU), high-speed optical interconnects (CPO), high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and heterogeneous servers to boost supply capacity for intelligent computing hardware and facilitate the deep integration of proprietary chips with mainstream large models. With an emphasis on new storage retrieval and data-model collaboration, the plan aims to achieve breakthroughs in high-precision heterogeneous processing, native multimodal fusion, and dynamic value alignment, and to build automated complex reasoning covering the full life cycle of corpus data. [Foxconn Industrial Internet: H1 2026 net profit up 95.99% YoY; AI computing demand continued to surge during the reporting period] Foxconn Industrial Internet announced on August 11 that its H1 2026 revenue was 557.861 billion yuan, up 54.63% YoY. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 23.74 billion yuan, up 95.99% YoY. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company after deducting non-recurring profit or loss was 22.984 billion yuan, up 96.99% YoY. Basic earnings per share was 1.2 yuan. The company plans not to distribute cash dividends, not to issue bonus shares, and not to convert capital reserve into share capital. The change in operating revenue was mainly due to the benefit from the continued surge in AI computing power demand, steady increase in market share among major clients, and strong performance of cloud service business, driving overall revenue growth. The change in net profit was mainly due to the benefit from the continued surge in AI computing power demand, with the company's main business operations achieving steady improvement in profitability. (Jin10 Data) [CoreWeave Second-Quarter Revenue Doubles, Shares Surge 12% After Hours] CoreWeave (CRWV.O) rose 12% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after reporting second-quarter revenue of $2.58 billion, up 112% YoY and surpassing Wall Street expectations, indicating that demand for AI computing power is still growing rapidly; net loss was $626 million, compared to $290 million in the same period last year; order backlog reached $104 billion, with projects under construction totaling 1.5 gigawatts of capacity. CoreWeave is accelerating the expansion of its data center business, competing with cloud computing giants such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft to capture the market for data centers equipped with chips capable of running generative AI models. However, CoreWeave has yet to achieve profitability. As of the end of the quarter, its debt on the balance sheet reached $35 billion, used to cover NVIDIA GPU and other equipment procurement costs. This quarter, Meta said it would invest an additional $21 billion in CoreWeave. Additionally, CoreWeave announced a multi-year cooperation agreement with Anthropic and received a $6 billion commitment from quantitative trading firm Jane Street. (Jin10 Data) [Axera Next-Generation High-Power AI Chip Completes Tape-Out, Supports Multi-Chip Cascading for Full-Fledged Large Model Inference on the Edge] From the earnings call of Axera's 2026 semi-annual report, it was learned that the company's next-generation high-performance, high-power AI chip has completed tape-out, with a significant increase in computing power specifications, equipped with high bandwidth, and supports two-chip or four-chip cascading, enabling high-performance inference of full-fledged large models on the edge. [Strategic Cooperation Intent Reached, Huawei to Provide Ascend Computing Equipment to Beijing Data Group] According to Beijing Data Group, on August 7, Beijing Data Group and Huawei held working talks and reached a strategic cooperation intent. Next, the two sides will focus on deepening cooperation in computing power clusters and city-level computing infrastructure construction. Beijing Data Group’s subsidiary Tongniu Information will participate in the construction of Beijing's city-level computing infrastructure, coordinating the deployment, daily operations, and computing services of the group's self-innovated computing clusters. Huawei will fully support Beijing Data Group in advancing the city-wide layout of self-innovated computing, providing advanced Ascend computing equipment, comprehensive technical solutions, and service support to jointly build a trusted city-level computing foundation in Beijing, continuously releasing the value of computing engines and offering stable, reliable computing support for the development of “Digital Intelligence Beijing.” [Nvidia Announces Partnership with Six Financial Giants to Arrange $500 Billion AI Infrastructure Financing System] Nvidia (NVDA.O) announced on the 10th local time that it has established a strategic partnership with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, and KKR to create an independent computing financing platform, aiming to mobilize over $500 billion in third-party capital over the long term for building artificial intelligence infrastructure. Nvidia stated that the new financing platform transforms Nvidia’s computing and full-stack AI infrastructure into an investable asset class for global capital, expands access to AI factories, achieves long-term revenue tied to usage, and supports Nvidia’s ecosystem growth in hardware sales and software applications. [Tesla: Terafab Plan Launches in Texas, Targeting Over 1 Terawatt of Computing Capacity Annually] On August 6, Tesla (TSLA.O) stated that earlier this year, SpaceX and Tesla announced the launch of the “Terafab” project—the world’s largest chip manufacturing initiative, integrating logic chips, memory chips, and advanced packaging technology within a single facility. In April, Tesla broke ground on a new R&D fab at the northern campus of its Texas Gigafactory, which served as the predecessor to Terafab. And today, we officially announced that Terafab will be located in Grimes County, Texas. This facility will be an advanced semiconductor wafer fab, designed to bridge the vast gap between current global chip supply capability and future computing demand. The combined chip demand of SpaceX and Tesla is expected to exceed 1 terawatt (TW) of computing power, far surpassing the current global supply capability. We greatly appreciate our existing chip suppliers and encourage them to expand capacity where possible, but the widening supply-demand gap in the future is the core reason for the Terafab project. Terafab’s goal is to manufacture new computing capacity at unprecedented scale and speed. The project plans to build a vertically integrated factory with a manufacturing area exceeding 100 million square feet. The facility will cover the manufacturing, packaging, and testing of advanced logic chips and memory chips. Concentrating these processes at a single location will facilitate rapid iteration and accelerate the deployment of new computing power. [ZTE Partners With Sky47 to Build Pakistan's Largest Intelligent Computing Data Center] Recently, the inauguration ceremony of Sky47 Karakoram-01, the largest integrated general-purpose and intelligent computing data center in Pakistan, jointly built by ZTE and Pakistan's leading cloud service provider Sky47, was held in Islamabad. As Pakistan's first customized AI-native Tier III data center, Sky47 Karakoram-01 has a total power supply capacity of 8.5 MW. The center will provide robust cloud computing, data hosting, and advanced digital service support across Pakistan, fully meeting the computing power needs of government and enterprises in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and high-performance computing (HPC). Power Battery Cell Installation Rush and Robust AI Industry Chain Demand Keep Copper Foil Operating Rate Climbing According to SMM, In July, the operating rate of the copper foil industry continued to climb, supported by strong end-use demand from downstream. In the lithium battery sector, production schedules of major Chinese lithium battery companies hit another record high in July. The installation rush for power battery cells boosted production schedules, and demand for lithium battery copper foil remained positive. In the electronic circuit segment, AI industry chain-related demand remained strong; capacity continued to shift toward high-end products, and demand for electronic circuit copper foil across all specifications stayed robust. Voices From All Parties CSC Financial’s research report notes that the scaling of frontier models has entered a stage of parallel multi-path development. Anthropic Mythos 5 and Fable 5 are estimated by the industry to have 8 trillion and 5 trillion parameters respectively; Kimi K3 has a total of 2.8 trillion parameters; and ByteDance is reportedly pretraining a model with up to 10 trillion parameters. Post-training is further extended to million-token agent trajectories, thousands of tool calls, and complex tasks lasting several hours. The RSI review published on July 8 covered 1,250 papers, 74% of which were published in 2026, indicating a clear acceleration in AI R&D automation. We believe that model competition is shifting from single-parameter expansion toward coordinated evolution involving pretraining, reinforcement learning, inference-time computing, RSI, and long-term agent capabilities. Computing power demand will expand from training to inference and agent execution. We remain bullish on the Capex ecosystem of major players, domestic chips and super-nodes, computing services, Pre-AI, B-end AI applications, and local inference. Founder Securities' research report indicates that the market's oversold rebound has entered a critical phase, with divergence unfolding across tech and cyclical growth sectors. Continue to focus on allocation opportunities in three areas. First, tech stocks also require selective positioning by structure. At the index level, the Sci-Tech Innovation Board and ChiNext have rebounded about 10% from their lows, and there remains upside relative to the typical oversold rebound amplitude of major themes. The AI narrative has seen some shifts after US CSP earnings reports, with competitive capex marginally weakening; cloud business and healthy cash flow are decisive factors. Therefore, within AI, hardware and applications will become more balanced. Focus on core overseas computing power names with low crowding, as well as domestic computing power segments with high earnings visibility such as semiconductor equipment and materials; relatively undervalued AI applications and Hang Seng Tech deserve attention. Second, watch for opportunities in HALO assets, as expectations for US Fed interest rate hikes are easing. Beyond core resource-related non-ferrous metals and chemicals, oversold old and new energy, including power grids and electrical equipment, coal and petrochemicals, etc. Third, leading pharmaceutical names with improving fundamentals, low crowding, and abating headwinds. CITIC Securities' research report notes that since 2023, the rapid development of AI has driven the iterative upgrade of optical module technology. New technologies such as optical chip speed upgrades, silicon photonics integration, and CPO architecture are jointly driving the iterative upgrade of optical module testing equipment. Combined with the rapid expansion of AI computing power infrastructure, this is driving a "volume and price increase" for optical module testing equipment. Currently, international players remain relatively ahead in the 1.6T high-end market, but domestic enterprises are accelerating their catch-up, with the gap steadily narrowing. We are bullish on the long-term development of the domestic optical module industry and the trend of import substitution for high-end optical module testing equipment. China Merchants Securities, reviewing nine sharp A-share market corrections since 2015, found that sharp declines were mostly triggered by external shocks or liquidity risks, with stabilization marked by policy responses. The average rebound window after a correction is 34 trading days, with the Wind All A-Share Index rebounding by more than 19% on average, and the larger the prior decline, the greater the subsequent rebound tends to be. Sector performance exhibits "two-phase" rotation: in the first 10 trading days of a rebound, high-beta, oversold sectors such as electronics and computers lead the gains; after 20 to 60 trading days, the market shifts to themes with fundamental support, such as electrical equipment and food & beverage. For the current cycle, a two-step allocation is recommended: initially, prioritize TMT and other oversold, high-beta sectors (with focus on computing power leaders in China and overseas); after 10 to 20 trading days, return to a rebalancing of fundamentals, focusing on electrical equipment, chemical pharmaceuticals, coal, and non-bank financials. Along sector themes, key opportunities to capture are the catch-up potential in the overseas computing power price-hike chain, the elasticity of domestic computing power hardware, and gold's value as a safe-haven and rebalancing asset. The overall allocation revolves around three main themes: technology innovation, enterprises going global, and rebalancing of traditional low-valuation sectors. According to CICC research, since mid-to-late June, global AI chains experienced notable pullbacks, with South Korea—characterized by high leverage, high crowding, and high retail participation—being the most severe. Behind this were the amplifying effects of high crowding and high leverage, disturbances from macro factors (such as rising expectations for US Fed interest rate hikes and the renewed blockade of the Strait of Hormuz driving up oil prices), and market concerns over a re-emerging AI bubble (e.g., Meta renting out computing power, declining token spending). In fact, before the bubble finally burst in March 2000, the tech stock market saw at least four rounds of large-scale, prolonged corrections. The triggers for these declines are highly similar to the current adjustment: short-term setbacks in industry trends, headwinds in the macro environment, and overheated valuation sentiment. The eventual rebound in tech stocks was also due to the easing of these three pressures. Therefore, corresponding to the present, for the market to stabilize and even start a new round of increases, these three factors are needed: the digestion of high crowding and high leverage (largely achieved), the easing of expectations for US Fed interest rate hikes or the actual announcement (watch the July FOMC meeting), and more importantly, new catalysts from earnings reports and industry developments (the July-August earnings season). Recommended reading:

Published: Aug 08, 2026 - 7:23 AM (Kitco News) - Gold investors have spent much of 2026 confronting a frustrating paradox: the geopolitical and fiscal backdrop has arguably never looked more supportive for a safe-haven asset, yet gold has struggled in recent months as rising real interest rate expectations have dramatically increased the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding metal. However, the important question for gold investors is no longer whether real yields are high; they unquestionably are. The question is whether they can move materially higher from here. For a growing number of analysts, the answer is: no. This week BCA Research argued that “the worst of real rates’ headwind to gold is likely behind us,” with Chief Commodities Strategist Roukaya Ibrahim noting that investors do not need Federal Reserve rate cuts to ignite another rally. They simply need real yields and the U.S. dollar to stop rising. That distinction is critical. Gold has already absorbed an extraordinary monetary-policy repricing. At the beginning of the year, markets anticipated one or two rate cuts. Today, investors are contemplating one or two hikes. Jefferies estimates that 10-year TIPS yields have risen to around 2.41% from 1.94% at the start of 2026. That abrupt reversal helped drive gold roughly 25% below its peak. Yet gold continues to defend the psychologically important $4,000-an-ounce level. The World Gold Council noted that gold finished July virtually unchanged at $4,027, even as rising yields remained a headwind. More importantly, European gold ETFs attracted inflows despite real Bund yields sitting at 15-year highs. In other words, gold has survived nearly everything the opportunity-cost argument could throw at it. Jefferies reaches a similar conclusion from history. Gold's performance following previous real-rate shocks depended less on the absolute level of yields than on whether the upward pressure subsequently subsided. The firm argues that much of today's repricing has already occurred and that easing real-rate pressure could allow gold and mining equities to recover. Meanwhile, the structural bullish forces haven't disappeared. Central banks continue accumulating gold, de-dollarization remains an important theme, fiscal concerns haven't gone away, and geopolitical uncertainty remains elevated. BCA expects official-sector demand to provide a floor even if central-bank purchases no longer generate the explosive upside they once did. Even inflation could ultimately become supportive, although not for the simplistic reason that gold is an inflation hedge. The World Gold Council argues that inflation becomes much more meaningful when it pushes above 4%, particularly if accompanied by falling real rates, dollar weakness or increasing recession risks. The bullish argument, therefore, doesn't require a collapsing economy, emergency Fed easing or another inflation crisis. It merely requires the forces that pushed gold down to stop getting worse. After one of the most aggressive opportunity-cost shocks gold has faced in years, that threshold may finally have been reached. And if real yields have indeed peaked, gold's biggest headwind could soon become its most important tailwind. Source： https://www.kitco.com/news/article/2026-08-07/golds-biggest-headwind-may-finally-be-peaking

Production Line Resumes Production and Launches! Inner Mongolia Qinjin New Materials Completes Stainless Steel Entire Industry Chain On August 6, good news came from the Naiman Banner Industrial Park: the stainless steel hot-rolling and pickling production line of Inner Mongolia Qinjin New Materials Group successfully completed commissioning and officially resumed production and launched, with the first batch of qualified stainless steel hot-rolled pickled coils successfully rolling off the line. The successful launch of this production line marks that the Qinjin Group's "ferroalloy—stainless steel smelting—hot rolling—annealing—pickling" integrated stainless steel entire industry chain system is fully ready for production and operation. It is reported that Inner Mongolia Qinjin New Materials Group Co., Ltd. was established in April 2017, is affiliated with Hebei Bishi Group, and is located in the Naiman Banner Nickel-based Circular Economy Industrial Park. The enterprise deeply cultivates the green and low-carbon new materials field, leveraging regional clean energy advantages, and has laid out and constructed a series of production lines including nickel-iron alloy, SiMn alloy, high-carbon ferrochrome, stainless steel smelting, hot rolling, pickling, etc., building a closed-loop, complete, green, and efficient nickel-based new materials entire industry chain production system. This key project covers a total area of nearly 10,000 mu, with an estimated total investment of 21 billion yuan, demonstrating prominent industrial scale and development potential. Upon full production, the project is expected to achieve an annual total industrial output value of 70 billion yuan, generate annual tax revenue of 3.5 billion yuan, and directly create jobs for more than 15,000 people. Leveraging the cost advantages, technology advantages, and industrial radiation advantages brought by the entire industry chain integration, it boosts the collaborative development of related industries such as stainless steel deep processing, supporting processing, logistics transportation, and equipment operation and maintenance, helping the Naiman Banner stainless steel industrial cluster to accelerate quality improvement, capacity expansion and upgrade, and enter the fast lane of high-quality development.