January-June, national industrial enterprises above designated size realized total profits of 3,947.99 billion yuan, up 18.7% YoY. January-June, among industrial enterprises above designated size, state-controlled enterprises realized total profits of 1,307.74 billion yuan, up 17.9% YoY; joint-stock enterprises realized total profits of 3,044.32 billion yuan, up 24.7% YoY; enterprises with foreign, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan investment realized total profits of 887.32 billion yuan, up 2.6% YoY; private enterprises realized total profits of 965.56 billion yuan, up 13.0% YoY. January-June, the mining industry realized total profits of 574.5 billion yuan, up 33.5% YoY; manufacturing realized total profits of 2,971.21 billion yuan, up 20.1% YoY; the production and supply of electricity, heat, gas and water realized total profits of 402.27 billion yuan, down 4.2% YoY.

On 22 July 2026, Zimbabwe’s state-owned Mutapa Energy Resources released the JORC-compliant resource estimate for the Sandawana lithium project: Block A totals 39.9 million tonnes at 1.39% Li₂O, with an exceptional 72% classified as Measured. Block A accounts for only 30% of the lease area; the remaining 70% remains unexplored, and the company targets upgrading the total resource to 90 million tonnes. The Zimbabwean government has banned concentrate exports effective 1 January 2027 with no extension granted, forcing miners to accelerate local processing. Sandawana’s processing plan is still at the feasibility stage, lagging behind peers such as Huayou Cobalt (already in production), Sinomine and Yahua (under construction). Chinese capital is deeply involved: Huayou and Tsingshan are building a US$270 million concentrator under a BOT model, while Mutapa has secured an additional US$300 million in funding (including Chinese investors). SMM believes the high Measured proportion gives the project strong “bankability”, but the mismatch between resources and processing capacity, combined with the export ban countdown, makes the next six months decisive for the project’s success. I. JORC Resource: Nearly 40 Mt with 72% Measured On 22 July 2026, Zimbabwe’s state-owned lithium enterprise, Mutapa Energy Resources (MER), officially released the JORC (Joint Ore Reserves Committee)-compliant resource estimate for the Sandawana lithium mine. The report shows that Block A contains a total mineral resource of 39.9 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.39% Li₂O – of which Measured Resource is approximately 28.6 million tonnes, accounting for 72% ; Indicated Resource is 2.7 million tonnes (6.8%); and Inferred Resource is 8.5 million tonnes (21.3%). This proportion of Measured Resource is extremely rare in Zimbabwe’s mining industry. At the Harare press conference, Mutapa Energy CEO Innocent Rukweza stated: “To our knowledge, we are the first mine in Zimbabwe with a Measured Resource representing 72% of the total resource. Most mines are far below this level, while we have exceeded 50%, which makes the resource ‘bankable’.” Even more noteworthy is that this 39.9 million tonnes resource is derived only from Block A, which covers just 30% of the entire 3,800-hectare mining lease. Blocks B and C – together accounting for 70% of the lease area – remain largely unexplored. Rukweza made it clear that the company aims to increase the total resource from the current nearly 40 million tonnes to 90 million tonnes . To achieve the above exploration results, Mutapa Energy completed 103,000 metres of drilling and collected and tested 33,000 samples over the past 11 months, at a total cost of US$24 million . The company has already mined approximately 2 million tonnes of ore from Sandawana and is constructing a concentrator with an annual processing capacity of 3 million tonnes . II. From Abandoned Emerald Mine to National Lithium Strategic Pillar Sandawana is not a greenfield project. Its mining history dates back to 1955 , when it was renowned for high-quality emerald (green beryl) production and operated for about 40 years. In 2010, operations were suspended due to working capital shortages and depletion of emerald resources. The mine’s “second life” began with Zimbabwe’s national strategic shift. As the global energy transition accelerated, lithium rose from a niche mineral to “white petroleum”. The Zimbabwean government incorporated lithium development into its national strategy, and Sandawana was repositioned as a lithium and tantalum project, placed under Mutapa Energy Resources, which is owned by the Mutapa Investment Fund. In 2025 , the former operating entity Kuvimba Mining House announced a US$270 million investment to build a lithium concentrator at Sandawana, with construction planned to start in the third quarter of 2025 and commissioning targeted for early 2027. In February 2026 , the Mutapa Investment Fund restructured Kuvimba into several specialised entities, and Mutapa Energy Minerals formally took over Sandawana, with Innocent Rukweza appointed as CEO. This restructuring marked Sandawana’s upgrade from a “legacy asset” to a flagship project of Zimbabwe’s national lithium strategy. III. Lithium Sulphate Strategy: A Chaser under Policy Pressure Sandawana’s processing roadmap is clear and urgent: concentrate → lithium sulphate → lithium carbonate . Zimbabwe’s government has progressively tightened lithium controls: in 2022 it banned unprocessed raw ore exports; in June 2025 it announced a ban on lithium concentrate exports effective 1 January 2027 ; in February 2026 it temporarily suspended all concentrate exports, later granting conditional soft relief via quotas while imposing an additional 10%–16% tax on concentrate exports and requiring written commitments from companies to build lithium sulphate plants before 2027. The government has explicitly ruled out any extension and will enforce the ban as scheduled. This policy imposes enormous time pressure on all lithium miners in Zimbabwe. In June 2026 , Rukweza, in his capacity as chairman of the Zimbabwe Lithium Producers’ Association, submitted an appeal to the government on behalf of the industry, requesting a postponement of the ban to March or June 2027 . In his remarks, he stated candidly: “We are not trying to avoid our beneficiation obligations; we are sincerely asking for time to complete the projects we have already started.” He revealed that among the seven major lithium producers, only Huayou Cobalt’s lithium sulphate plant has been completed, commissioned and has achieved product shipments ; Sinomine’s Bikita Minerals and Yahua’s Kamativi lithium mine are still under construction. Sandawana’s processing scheme, by contrast, remains at the feasibility study stage . In other words, Sandawana is far ahead on resources but a chaser on processing. The company has committed approximately US$1.45 billion to local processing facilities, but the time window is narrowing. IV. Chinese Capital: Deep Integration from Financing to Construction Long before the investment landed, Chinese companies were already deeply embedded in Sandawana’s development chain. In September 2024 , Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Tsingshan Holding Group reached a cooperation agreement with Zimbabwe’s state-owned Kuvimba Mining House (the predecessor of Mutapa Energy Resources). Under the agreement, the Chinese partners do not hold direct equity in Sandawana, but participate under a BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model – the partners will operate the processing plant for at least 5 years after commissioning, during which they will recover construction costs and earn operating profits, after which all assets and titles will be transferred to the Zimbabwean state free of charge . In February 2026 , Mutapa Energy Resources CEO Rukweza officially confirmed that the Sandawana concentrator would be built in cooperation with Huayou Cobalt and Tsingshan under this BOT framework. The facility involves an investment of US$270 million , with an annual processing capacity of 600,000 tonnes of ore, targeting commissioning in early 2027. Dinson Holdings , as Tsingshan’s core investment platform in Zimbabwe, though not directly involved in the Sandawana project cooperation, operates an ore processing facility with an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes through its subsidiary Gwanda Lithium . Before Sandawana’s own concentrator is completed, some ore from Sandawana has been shipped to Gwanda for processing. Dinson has accumulated total investments of approximately US$900 million in Zimbabwe, covering ferrochrome smelting, coke, steel and lithium processing, forming a critical pillar for Tsingshan’s lithium operations in the country. In addition, Sinomine Resource Group, Chengxin Lithium Group and Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group are among the Chinese companies that have invested in Zimbabwe’s lithium sector. Chinese capital’s presence in Zimbabwe’s lithium industry has extended from pure investment to full-chain cooperation covering technology, engineering, construction and off-take agreements. SMM Perspectives The release of Sandawana’s JORC resource has landmark significance on three levels: First, the “certainty” value of resource quality. A Measured Resource proportion of 72% is exceptionally rare in African mining projects. This means geological risk has been substantially compressed, giving the project clear “bankability”. Against the backdrop of global lithium prices falling from their 2022 peak of approximately US$86,000/tonne to the current level of about US$14,000/tonne, capital is placing a higher premium on “certainty” – Sandawana’s high Measured proportion precisely meets that demand. Second, the urgency of the time window. The 1 January 2027 concentrate export ban is now on a countdown. Sandawana’s resource is “in place”, but its processing capacity remains at the “feasibility study” stage. Huayou Cobalt is already in production, while Sinomine and Yahua are under construction – Sandawana clearly lags behind its peers on the processing front. Whether the US$300 million funding can translate into rapid processing facility construction will determine whether this “Zimbabwe’s largest undeveloped lithium asset” can complete its value realisation before the ban takes effect. Third, the game of Zimbabwe’s “resource nationalism”. From the 2022 raw ore ban to the 2027 concentrate ban, Zimbabwe is advancing along a clear path: “ban raw ore → restrict concentrate → mandate lithium sulphate”. The objective is clear: to keep higher value-added links of the lithium value chain within the country. But for Sandawana, this means a stark choice between “selling concentrate” and “building a lithium sulphate plant” – and time is not on its side. Sandawana possesses Zimbabwe’s highest-quality lithium resource endowment and carries the nation’s ambition to transform from a resource exporter into a battery materials producer. But whether the “quality” of its resources can translate into the “quantity” of processing capacity depends on a three-way race among capital, technology and policy. The US$300 million has arrived, the US$270 million concentrator is under construction, but the feasibility study for the lithium sulphate plant has only just begun. When the clock strikes January 2027, will Sandawana be an “exemption” or a “restricted party” under the concentrate export ban? The answer will be revealed in the next six months. Sources: Mutapa Energy Resources, SMM, publicly available information

[SMM Express] South Africa's mining production remained under pressure in May 2026 as weaker performances across key bulk commodities weighed on total output. Against this backdrop, chrome stood out as one of only two major commodities to record positive year-on-year production growth, highlighting its continued resilience amid a broader industry slowdown. Key reads from the disclosures: (i) Relative outperformance: Chrome was among only two commodities to post positive production growth in May, outperforming most of South Africa's mining sector. (ii) Structural demand support: Continued demand from China's stainless steel industry and ferrochrome sector remains supportive of chrome production. (iii) Industry resilience: Chrome producers have continued to expand output despite weaker mining conditions affecting several other commodities. (iv) Strategic importance: Chrome's stronger production performance further reinforces its role as one of South Africa's most resilient mining commodities and an increasingly important contributor to export earnings. Watchlist. Although chrome continues to outperform the broader mining sector, production momentum will depend on sustained Chinese demand, logistics efficiency across rail and ports, reliable power supply, and the pace of new UG2 chrome recovery capacity additions. Continued weakness in South Africa's overall mining industry could also weigh indirectly on future investment and operational activity.

On July 22, Wesfarmers and SQM formally approved the expansion of the Mt Holland lithium project. The project will construct a second beneficiation plant and an ore pre-selection facility, increasing the nominal capacity of lithium concentrates from approximately 380,000 mt/year to 760,000 mt/year.

SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: Overnight, LME copper opened at $13,602/mt, rose to a high of $13,644/mt in early trading, then drifted lower to $13,532/mt, and finally closed at $13,581/mt, down 0.14%. Trading volume was 15,000 lots, and open interest decreased to 241,000 lots, down 1,977 lots from the previous trading day, reflecting long liquidation. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2608 contract opened at 104,520 yuan/mt, edged up to 104,680 yuan/mt in early trading, then drifted lower to hit a low of 103,940 yuan/mt, and eventually closed at 104,040 yuan/mt, down 0.17%. Trading volume reached 17,000 lots, and open interest declined to 138,000 lots, down 2,001 lots from the previous trading day, also reflecting long liquidation.

SMM Morning Briefing: Overnight LME copper opened at $13,633/mt, edged down to $13,581/mt in early trading, then rose to touch a high of $13,707.5/mt, and finally settled at $13,600/mt, up 0.90%, with trading volume of 21,000 lots and open interest at 243,000 lots, down 3,933 lots from the previous trading day, reflecting bear position reduction. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2608 contract opened at 104,700 yuan/mt, edged up to 105,140 yuan/mt in early trading, then drifted lower to touch a low of 104,540 yuan/mt, and finally settled at 105,140 yuan/mt, up 0.28%, with trading volume at 31,000 lots and open interest at 144,000 lots, down 783 lots from the previous trading day, reflecting bear position reduction.

In H1 2026, the tungsten market was largely driven by supply-side dynamics, experiencing a complete cycle of sharp rises and falls before finally retreating from highs to close the half-year. Entering H2, the annual tungsten ore mining quotas have been fully implemented, monthly mine output has stabilized, and there is no significant room for further production cuts or new volume increases.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows: Data from the NBS shows that in June 2026, the national consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.0% YoY. Specifically, urban areas recorded a 1.0% increase and rural areas a 0.8% increase; food prices fell 1.6%, while non-food prices rose 1.5%; consumer goods prices rose 1.1%, and services prices rose 0.8%. In H1, the national CPI rose 1.0% YoY. In June, the national CPI fell 0.3% MoM, with urban areas down 0.4% and rural areas down 0.3%; food prices fell 0.4%, and non-food prices fell 0.3%; consumer goods prices dropped 0.6%, while services prices remained flat. NBS data also showed that in June 2026, the national industrial producer EXW prices rose 4.1% YoY and fell 0.3% MoM. Industrial producer purchasing prices rose 6.4% YoY and fell 0.2% MoM. In H1, industrial producer EXW prices rose 1.5% YoY and industrial producer purchasing prices rose 2.4% YoY. Dong Lijuan, Chief Statistician of the Urban Survey Department at the NBS, interpreted the CPI and PPI data for June 2026. In June 2026, CPI Rose 1.0% YoY In June 2026, the national CPI rose 1.0% YoY. Specifically, urban areas recorded a 1.0% increase and rural areas a 0.8% increase; food prices fell 1.6%, while non-food prices rose 1.5%; consumer goods prices rose 1.1%, and services prices rose 0.8%. In H1, the national CPI rose 1.0% YoY. In June, the national CPI fell 0.3% MoM, with urban areas down 0.4% and rural areas down 0.3%; food prices fell 0.4%, and non-food prices fell 0.3%; consumer goods prices dropped 0.6%, while services prices remained flat. 1. YoY Changes in Prices of Various Categories of Goods and Services In June, the price of food, tobacco, alcohol and dining out fell 0.8% YoY, dragging the CPI down by approximately 0.24 percentage points. Within food, livestock meat prices fell 7.3%, pulling the CPI down by about 0.30 percentage points, of which pork prices dropped 15.9%; dairy product prices fell 1.7%, contributing a 0.02 percentage point decline in the CPI; fresh fruit prices fell 0.7%, contributing a 0.01 percentage point decline; while egg prices rose 16.0%, lifting the CPI by about 0.08 percentage points. Among the other seven categories, prices rose YoY for six and fell for one. Among them, prices for other goods and services, transportation and communication, and healthcare rose by 6.6%, 4.1%, and 2.3%, respectively; clothing and education, culture and recreation prices both rose by 1.4%; household goods and services prices rose by 1.3%; and housing prices fell by 0.3%. II. MoM Changes in Prices of Various Goods and Services In June, prices for food, tobacco and alcohol, and dining out fell 0.3% MoM, contributing to a decrease of about 0.08 percentage point in the CPI. Within food, fresh fruit prices fell 2.0%, contributing to a 0.04 percentage point decrease; fresh vegetable prices fell 1.0%, contributing to a 0.02 percentage point decrease; livestock meat prices fell 0.5%, contributing to a 0.02 percentage point decrease, of which pork prices fell 0.8%; egg prices rose 5.8%, contributing to a 0.03 percentage point increase. Prices in the other seven categories showed one increase, two unchanged, and four decreases MoM. Among them, healthcare prices rose 0.2%; housing and education, culture and recreation prices remained unchanged; other goods and services and transportation and communication prices fell 2.7% and 1.3%, respectively; household goods and services and clothing prices fell 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. In June 2026, the Producer Price Index rose 4.1% YoY and fell 0.3% MoM In June 2026, the national Producer Price Index rose 4.1% YoY and fell 0.3% MoM. The Purchasing Price Index for industrial producers rose 6.4% YoY and fell 0.2% MoM. In H1, the Producer Price Index rose 1.5% YoY, and the Purchasing Price Index rose 2.4% YoY. I. YoY Changes in Industrial Producer Prices In June, within the Producer Price Index, prices for means of production rose 5.5% YoY, contributing approximately 4.28 percentage points to the overall increase. Of which, prices for the mining industry rose 16.5%, raw material industry rose 8.6%, and processing industry rose 3.0%. Prices for consumer goods fell 0.9%, contributing approximately 0.20 percentage point to the overall decrease. Of which, food prices fell 2.1%, clothing and general merchandise prices both fell 1.0%, and durable consumer goods prices rose 0.1%. Within the Purchasing Price Index, prices for non-ferrous metal materials and wires rose 21.6%, fuels and power rose 11.8%, chemical raw materials rose 11.5%, textile raw materials rose 3.3%, and ferrous metal materials rose 1.3%; prices for building materials and non-metallic products fell 4.8%, and agricultural by-products fell 1.3%. II. Month-on-Month Changes in Industrial Producer Prices In June, among industrial producer prices, the means of production prices fell 0.3% MoM, dragging down the overall industrial producer price level by about 0.25 percentage points. Among them, mining and quarrying prices fell 0.9%, raw materials prices fell 1.2%, and processing industry prices rose 0.2%. Consumer goods prices fell 0.3%, dragging down the overall industrial producer price level by about 0.06 percentage points. Among them, food prices fell 0.8%, clothing and durable consumer goods prices remained flat, and general daily necessities prices fell 0.1%. In industrial producer purchasing prices, chemical raw materials prices fell 1.3%, fuels and power prices fell 0.5%, building materials and non-metallic minerals prices fell 0.4%, and agricultural and sideline products prices fell 0.3%; textile raw materials prices rose 0.7%, and non-ferrous metal materials and wires prices rose 0.1%; ferrous metal materials prices remained flat. In June 2026, CPI Maintained Mild YoY Growth While PPI YoY Increase Slightly Expanded — Interpretation of June 2026 CPI and PPI Data by Dong Lijuan, Chief Statistician of the Urban Department of the National Bureau of Statistics In June, affected by seasonal factors and fluctuations in international market prices, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.3% MoM and rose 1.0% YoY. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 1.0% YoY, continuing to maintain a mild increase. While demand in some domestic sectors increased, affected by factors such as the decline in international crude oil prices, the Industrial Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 0.3% MoM and rose 4.1% YoY. I. CPI Maintained Mild Growth On a MoM basis, the nationwide CPI fell 0.3%. Affected by international market price fluctuations, domestic gold jewelry and gasoline prices fell 8.7% and 4.9%, respectively, with the declines widening by 5.9 and 4.6 percentage points from the previous month, together contributing to a roughly 0.22 percentage point drop in the CPI MoM, and the downward pull on the CPI increased by about 0.19 percentage points from the previous month. Food prices fell 0.4%, the same decline as the previous month, dragging down the CPI MoM by about 0.07 percentage points. Within food, seasonal fruits and vegetables were supplied in abundance, with fresh vegetable and fruit prices falling 1.0% and 2.0%, respectively, together contributing to a roughly 0.06 percentage point drop in the CPI MoM; pork and aquatic product prices fell 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively, together dragging down the CPI MoM by about 0.02 percentage points; laying hen inventories were at low levels, compounded by reduced egg production rates due to high temperatures, causing egg prices to rise 7.0%, which contributed about 0.03 percentage points to the CPI MoM increase. Service prices turned flat after a 0.1% decline the previous month. Within services, affected by factors such as airlines lowering fuel surcharges and off-season travel demand pulling back, prices for hotel accommodation, airfare, and travel agency fees dropped 5.3%, 4.0%, and 0.7%, respectively, dragging down the CPI by about 0.04 percentage points MoM in total; affected by policy-driven price adjustments in some regions, national medical service prices rose 0.3%, contributing about 0.02 percentage points to the CPI MoM. On a YoY basis, the national CPI rose 1.0%, and the growth rate pulled back by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. Driven by international imported factors, the price increase of domestic industrial consumer goods pulled back. Prices of industrial consumer goods rose 2.9%, with the growth rate pulling back by 1.0 percentage points from the previous month. They contributed about 0.90 percentage points to the YoY CPI increase, and their upward push effect on the CPI decreased by about 0.28 percentage points from the previous month. Among industrial consumer goods, the price increases for gold jewelry and gasoline pulled back to 28.1% and 17.0%, respectively. Together, they contributed about 0.60 percentage points to the YoY CPI increase, and their upward push effect on the CPI decreased by about 0.23 percentage points from the previous month; prices of personal care products and household appliances rose 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively, with both growth rates pulling back. Service prices rose 0.8%, the same growth rate as the previous month, contributing about 0.40 percentage points to the YoY CPI increase. Within services, prices of medical services and education services rose 3.4% and 0.6%, respectively. Prices of housekeeping services and dining out rose 1.4% and 1.1%, respectively, with overall stable growth rates. Food prices fell 1.6%, with the decline narrowing by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, dragging down the YoY CPI by about 0.28 percentage points. Within food, pork prices dropped 15.9%, with the decline narrowing by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, dragging down the YoY CPI by about 0.30 percentage points; prices of fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, grain, edible oil, dairy products, and aquatic products fell within a range of 0.3% to 1.7%; egg prices rose 20.0%, with the growth rate expanding by 11.6 percentage points from the previous month; prices of mutton, beef, and poultry meat rose within a range of 1.4% to 6.0%. 2. PPI YoY Growth Slightly Widened On a MoM basis, the national PPI fell 0.3%. The main characteristics of the PPI MoM movement this month: First, the decline in international crude oil prices led to price drops in related domestic industries. Petroleum extraction prices fell 16.0% MoM, and refined petroleum product manufacturing prices fell 3.1%, with the declines widening by 14.2 and 2.8 percentage points, respectively, from the previous month. Prices in the manufacturing of chemical raw materials and chemical products, as well as chemical fiber manufacturing, turned from increases in the previous month to declines of 2.0% and 0.8%, respectively. Second, influenced by seasonal factors, price trends diverged across certain industries. In June, rising temperatures drove higher demand for coal stockpiling ahead of the summer peak and for cooling products. Prices for coal mining and washing rose 5.6% MoM, household refrigeration appliances increased 0.6%, and refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment grew 0.4%. Abundant summer precipitation, sunlight, and wind led to price declines in hydropower, solar power, and wind power, which fell 9.1%, 2.5%, and 2.2%, respectively. Third, accelerated industrial upgrading boosted demand and pushed prices higher in select sectors. With continuously expanding AI application scenarios, broad adoption of new raw materials and advanced materials, and sustained progress in green transformation, prices for virtual reality equipment manufacturing rose 8.4% MoM, wearable smart device manufacturing increased 3.4%, industrial control computers and systems rose 3.3%, and industrial robot manufacturing grew 0.5%. Prices for electronic specialty materials rose 2.5%, carbon-based nanomaterials increased 1.9%, biomass fuel processing grew 1.2%, and the comprehensive utilization of waste resources industry rose 0.4%. On a YoY basis, the national PPI rose 4.1%, with the growth rate expanding by 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous month. Among industries recording price increases, coal mining and washing rose 20.6%, electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing grew 5.1%, computer, communications, and other electronic equipment manufacturing increased 3.3%, and ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing rose 3.1%, all seeing wider growth rates than the previous month. Together, these four industries contributed approximately 1.39 percentage points to the YoY PPI increase. Non-ferrous metal ore mining and dressing, along with non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing, rose 25.5% and 23.4%, respectively. Oil and natural gas extraction, petroleum, coal, and other fuel processing, and chemical raw material and chemical product manufacturing rose 16.8%, 16.7%, and 11.3%, respectively, with all three seeing a pullback in growth rates compared to the previous month. These five industries collectively contributed about 3.25 percentage points to the YoY PPI increase. Among industries recording price declines, non-metallic mineral products fell 4.4%, with the decline narrowing by 0.7 percentage points from the previous month. Electricity, heat production, and supply dropped 4.4%, unchanged from the prior month. Alcoholic beverages and refined tea manufacturing, along with automobile manufacturing, fell 5.3% and 2.1%, respectively, with the declines widening by 3.4 and 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. Together, these four industries dragged down the YoY PPI by approximately 0.72 percentage points.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $13,206/mt. In early trading, the copper price center dipped to $13,146/mt, then drifted higher, and near the end of the session touched a high of $13,270/mt, eventually closing at $13,255/mt, down 0.6%. Trading volume reached 24,000 lots, and open interest reached 246,000 lots, a decrease of 972 lots from the previous trading day, indicating long liquidation. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2608 contract opened at 101,890 yuan/mt. In early trading, the price center dipped to 101,640 yuan/mt, moved sideways then rose, and near the end of the session touched a high of 102,230 yuan/mt, eventually closing at 102,130 yuan/mt, down 0.7%. Trading volume reached 41,100 lots, and open interest reached 152,000 lots, an increase of 1,954 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bearish position building.

Critical metals processing company pH7 Technologies has received C$5 million in funding from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to validate a new copper extraction technology. The project will use ore samples from the Gibraltar mine in British Columbia to test the company's proprietary closed-loop process, which is designed to convert low-grade sulphide ore directly into 99.9% pure copper cathodes while producing green hydrogen as a by-product. The company said the project will generate the technical, environmental and economic data required to support future commercial deployment. The technology could improve the economic viability of low-grade copper resources while contributing to the decarbonization of the mining industry.