►New Advances in Magnesium Materials and Processes ►Development and Application of New-Type Low-Cost, High-Strength, Corrosion-Resistant Magnesium Alloys ►Stainless Magnesium Technology: R&D Progress from Alloy Materials to Semi-Solid Processes, R&D and Application of Stainless Magnesium Alloys ►Hefei • Great “Magnesium” Chaohu — Building a First-Class Magnesium Industry Ecosystem in China ►R&D Progress and Current Industrialisation Status of Magnesium-Based Materials and Products at Baowu Magnesium ►Haitian Magnesium Alloy Injection Molding Technology and Market Outlook ►Magnesium from an International Perspective: The Transformation from a Cost-Driven Bulk Commodity to a Strategic Engineering Material ►: Focusing on the New Cycle of Supply and Demand for Magnesium Metal and Downstream Applications — Outlook for the Magnesium Market in 2026

TrendForce stated that the two major wafer foundries, TSMC and Samsung Electronics, had increased prices for the most-traded advanced 5/4nm processes used for AI chips. At TSMC, capacity at the 5/4nm, 3nm, and 2nm periods will remain fully utilized, and toll processing prices for these processes have been increased across the board; meanwhile, order volumes for Samsung Foundry's 5/4nm processes also increased significantly, prompting it to issue price hike notices to clients in Q4 2025.

【SMM Steel】ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih will halt its Foundry and Mechanical Plant (LMZ) in three months, cutting over 1,700 jobs. Total cuts exceed 2,400 with the blooming shop also closing. Soaring power costs from infrastructure attacks and expensive imports made steel production unviable. EU's CBAM, effective 2026 with no Ukraine exemption, blocked European market access, drying up LMZ orders.

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) released its 2025 performance report, showing that in 2025, the company's net profit (excluding GAC data) increased by 16% to US$1.34 billion, and core profit increased by 7% to US$2.53 billion, mainly due to the rise in the average real price of aluminum and the increase in total sales volume. EGA's EBITDA in 2025 was AED 9.28 billion (US$2.53 billion), compared to AED 8.69 billion (US$2.37 billion) in 2024. In 2025, EGA's foundry metal production reached a record high of 2.84 million tons, up from 2.77 million tons in 2024. In 2025, EGA's sales volume of low-carbon aluminum products increased by 70%, reaching approximately 196,000 tons.

The National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has launched a new IA91 grade aluminium alloy ingot on 24th February. IA91 grade aluminium alloy ingot is a high-profile, silicon-based aluminium casting alloy. It is manufactured in ingot form (metal that has been cast into a solid, standardised bar shape) for use in metal casting processes. The main usage of the alloy ingot is in automotive components, electrical power equipment, industrial machinery and foundry applications.

[SMM Aluminum Express News] Vedanta Aluminium has scaled up billet production at its Jharsuguda facility (Odisha, India), the world's largest aluminum plant—to 830 KTPA by commissioning an additional 250 KTPA (on existing 580 KTPA). This positions it among the world's largest billet producers, enhancing value-added supply for domestic and global customers. Billets (5–12 inch diameters) feed extrusion for infrastructure, transport, renewables, electrical, consumer goods, and packaging. The company also added new 120 KTPA Primary Foundry Alloy (PFA) facility.

According to foreign media reports, on Sunday, Taural, an Indian aluminum casting manufacturer, began production at its second aluminum casting plant in Supa (adjacent to Pune) in Maharashtra. The plant, with an investment of 5 billion rupees, will expand its capacity to 1,500 tons and will produce custom aluminum castings weighing between 20 kg and 1,000 kg for use in various industries including energy, transportation, defense, railways, aerospace, and industrial infrastructure.

SMM News on June 18: Metal Market: As of the midday close, most domestic base metals rose, with SHFE nickel down 0.5%. SHFE copper rose 0.15%, SHFE aluminum rose 1.42%. SHFE zinc rose 0.87%, SHFE tin rose 0.13%. SHFE lead fell 0.71%. In addition, the main continuous futures contract for foundry aluminum rose 0.79%, and the main continuous contract for alumina rose 1.4%. Lithium carbonate rose 0.17%, silicon metal rose 0.95%, and polysilicon fell 0.47%. The ferrous metals series generally rose, with iron ore down 0.72%, rebar up 0.13%, and HRC up 0.36. Stainless steel rose 0.04%. In the coking coal and coke sector: coking coal fell 0.44%, and coke rose 0.59%. In the overseas metal market, as of 11:50 a.m., LME metals all rose, with LME copper, LME lead, LME aluminum, and LME nickel all up less than 0.4%. LME zinc rose 0.63%, and LME tin rose 0.73%. In the precious metals market, as of 11:50 a.m., COMEX gold was flat at $3,407/oz, and COMEX silver rose 0.47%. Domestically, SHFE gold fell 0.17%, and SHFE silver rose 2.37%, hitting a record high of 9,047 yuan/kg during the session. As of the midday close, the most-traded contract for the European container shipping index rose 4.49% to 2,118.6. As of 11:50 a.m. on June 18, midday futures market movements for some contracts: 》SMM Metal Spot Prices on June 18 Spot and Fundamentals Copper: Today, spot #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was quoted at a premium of 140-220 yuan/mt against the front-month contract, with an average premium of 180 yuan/mt, down 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. SX-EW copper was quoted at a premium of 80-100 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 90 yuan/mt, down 30 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was 78,840 yuan/mt, up 145 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, and the average price of SX-EW copper was 78,750 yuan/mt, up 155 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot Market: Inventories in Guangdong have fallen for two consecutive days, mainly due to fewer arrivals. Although inventories have decreased, warrants are flowing out, increasing the available supply. As a result, suppliers have had to lower prices to sell... 》Click for details Macro Front Domestic: [US exhibitors at the third China International Supply Chain Expo increase by 15% compared to the previous edition] According to CCTV News, at the 2025 Lujiazui Forum, Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People's Bank of China, announced eight major financial policies. The first is to establish a trade repository for the interbank market. This will involve the high-frequency aggregation and systematic analysis of transaction data from various financial sub-markets, including interbank bonds, currencies, derivatives, gold, and bills, to serve financial institutions, macroeconomic regulation, and financial market supervision. Second, establish an international operation center for the digital yuan. Promote the international operation of the digital yuan and the development of financial market businesses to serve digital financial innovation. Third, establish personal credit reporting agencies. Provide diversified and differentiated personal credit reporting products for financial institutions to further improve the social credit reporting system. 》Click for details [Li Yunze: Will jointly release an action plan with the Shanghai Municipal Government to support the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center] At the 2025 Lujiazui Forum today, Li Yunze, Director of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, stated that in recent years, Shanghai has achieved a series of new progress and breakthroughs in the construction of an international financial center. During the forum, the National Financial Regulatory Administration will jointly release an action plan with the Shanghai Municipal Government to support the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center, introducing a series of deployment measures, including encouraging Shanghai to carry out innovative pilots in the fields of technology finance and cross-border finance, supporting eligible national banks to establish financial asset investment companies in Shanghai, and enhancing Shanghai's international reinsurance and shipping insurance underwriting capabilities and global service levels, among others. (Caixin) [SAFE to Implement a Package of Foreign Exchange Innovation Policies in Pilot Free Trade Zones] Zhu Hexin, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China and Director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, stated at the 2025 Lujiazui Forum that the State Administration of Foreign Exchange will implement a package of foreign exchange innovation policies in pilot free trade zones. These include 10 facilitation policies, such as optimizing settlement for new-type international trade and expanding the Qualified Foreign Limited Partner (QFLP) pilot program, actively supporting the enhancement strategy of pilot free trade zones. [National Mine Safety Administration: Public Consultation on the "Key R&D Catalog for Mine Intelligent Robots"] To thoroughly implement the "Guiding Opinions on Deeply Promoting the Intelligent Construction of Mines and Promoting Mine Safety Development" jointly issued by seven departments including the National Mine Safety Administration, and to accelerate the intelligent construction of mines and the R&D and application of robots, the General Office of the National Mine Safety Administration, in conjunction with relevant departments, has organized the drafting of the "Key R&D Catalog for Mine Intelligent Robots (Draft for Public Consultation)", which is now open for public consultation. The People's Bank of China conducted 156.3 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repo operations today, with an operating interest rate of 1.40%, unchanged from the previous rate. As 164 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repos matured today, a net withdrawal of 7.7 billion yuan was realized. ► The central parity rate of the RMB against the US dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market on June 18 was 7.1761 yuan per US dollar. US dollar aspect: As of 11:50, the US dollar index fell by 0.14% to 98.68. Fed officials held a meeting on Tuesday, and the latest economic data may heighten their concerns that government policies (or at least the high degree of uncertainty surrounding these policies) will slow economic growth in the coming months. US retail sales fell more than expected in May, dragged down by a decline in car purchases, as the surge in advance buying by US consumers to avoid tariff-induced price increases has subsided. However, consumer spending is currently still supported by robust wage growth. The market generally expects the US Fed to keep its benchmark interest rate range unchanged at 4.25%-4.50%. The market will closely monitor the remarks of Fed Chairman Powell after the policy decision is announced, seeking signals for the future path of monetary policy. In other currency news: The Bank of Japan (BOJ) released its latest monetary policy statement, maintaining the policy interest rate at 0.5% and slowing the pace of reducing its bond-buying program. The BOJ will cut its bond purchases by 200 billion yen per quarter starting from April 2026. The BOJ stated that the Japanese economy is recovering mildly, but there are still some signs of weakness. (Cailian Press) In terms of data: Today, data including the UK's May CPI year-on-year rate, UK's May core CPI year-on-year rate, UK's May retail price index year-on-year rate, Eurozone's May harmonized CPI year-on-year rate - final unadjusted figure, Eurozone's May core harmonized CPI year-on-year rate - final unadjusted figure, US's May initial monthly rate of building permits, US's May initial annualized total of building permits, US's initial jobless claims for the week ending June 14, US's continuing jobless claims for the week ending June 7, US's May seasonally adjusted annualized monthly rate of housing starts, and US's May seasonally adjusted annualized total of housing starts will be released. In addition, it is worth noting that the Bank of Canada will release the minutes of its monetary policy meeting; Bank of Canada Governor Macklem will deliver a speech on Canada's economic outlook, inflation trends, and interest rates; and the 2025 Lujiazui Forum will be held in Shanghai. In terms of crude oil: Both WTI and Brent crude oil futures rose, with WTI up 0.31% and Brent up 0.35% as of 11:50. This is due to market concerns that the conflict between Iran and Israel may disrupt oil supplies, supporting oil prices. Analysts said the market is mainly concerned about supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's seaborne oil passes. According to the CCTV News app, on the 17th local time, the US consumer news and business channel CNBC reported that the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), one of the world's largest shipping associations, said that the large-scale conflict between Israel and Iran has made the entire shipping industry uneasy, with many ships already choosing to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, and the number of ships passing through the Strait is declining. Amid the escalating deterioration of regional security, ocean freight rates through the Strait of Hormuz are expected to rise. Iran is the third-largest oil producer among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), with a daily output of approximately 3.3 million barrels. However, analysts suggest that other OPEC members could utilize their spare capacity to offset the decline in Iran's production. Data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) indicate a decrease in US crude oil and gasoline inventories, along with an increase in distillate fuel oil inventories, for the week ending June 13. Crude oil inventories fell by 10.1 million barrels, gasoline inventories decreased by 202,000 barrels, and distillate fuel oil inventories rose by 318,000 barrels. (Webstock Inc.) Spot Market Overview: ► A significant outflow of warrants has increased market supply, leading to a notable decline in spot premiums. [SMM South China Spot Copper] ► Trading activity in the spot market remains low, with premiums and discounts weakening. [SMM North China Spot Copper] ► Shanghai Zinc: Premiums continue to deteriorate, with average trading performance. [SMM Midday Review] ► [SMM Nickel Midday Review] On June 18, nickel spot prices remained stable, with People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng announcing eight significant financial policies. Midday reviews for other metal spot markets will be updated shortly. Please refresh for the latest information.

As reminded by a Caixin article on Tuesday evening, overnight and into the morning, overseas markets have been busy reassessing the prospects of the Middle East conflict, with the three major US stock indices collectively under pressure and declining. As of Tuesday's close, the S&P 500 fell 0.84% to 5,982.72 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.91% to 19,521.09 points; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7% to 42,215.8 points. As a bellwether for the Middle East conflict, international oil prices surged again. (Daily chart of Brent crude oil, source: TradingView) According to CCTV News, as the military conflict between Israel and Iran continues, the market's focus has shifted to whether the US military will intervene. According to reports, US President Trump met with his national security team in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday to weigh whether to further intervene in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. US Treasury bond prices also rose simultaneously, though this was also related to weak US retail, housing, and industrial output data. Later on Wednesday (early Thursday Beijing time), the US Fed will announce its latest interest rate decision and hold a press conference. The market generally expects that before a series of uncertainties that could trigger inflation are resolved, Fed officials will have no room to cut interest rates. Meanwhile, Andrew Tyler, head of global market intelligence at JPMorgan Chase, who successfully predicted the April rebound, said this week that despite the success of investors' strategy of buying the dip in the US stock market this year, with negative news always being rewarded after fading away, it is now best to reduce risk exposure. Regardless of the Israel-Iran situation, the US stock market itself is already ripe for a correction. The latest Bank of America Fund Manager Survey also shows that about 54% of institutional investors expect international stocks to be the best-performing asset class over the next five years, while only 23% choose US stocks. Performance of Popular Stocks Tech giants generally fell on Tuesday, with Apple down 1.4%, Microsoft down 0.23%, Amazon down 0.59%, Nvidia down 0.39%, Google-A down 0.46%, Tesla down 3.88%, and Meta down 0.7%. Chinese ADRs also weakened due to market sentiment, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closing down 1.77%. As of the close, Alibaba was down 0.8%, JD.com was down 0.93%, Baidu was down 1.42%, Pinduoduo was down 0.25%, Bilibili was down 2.6%, NIO was down 2.27%, NetEase was down 1.12%, and Futu Holdings was down 1.47%. The "Traditional Chinese Medicine + Brain-Computer Interface" concept stock that captured market attention yesterday, Brain Regeneration Technology, continued to rise by 30%, reaching a market capitalization of $38.5 billion, with a cumulative increase of 59,900% since the beginning of the year. It should be emphasized that the core reason for the stock's speculative surge lies in its extremely small free float. Company News [Amazon CEO Issues Warning on "AI Taking Jobs"] On Tuesday local time, Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and cloud computing platform, publicly wrote that as the company widely adopts AI to enhance efficiency, it is expected that the overall workforce will be reduced. [US Energy Giant Chevron Officially Enters Lithium Industry] US energy giant Chevron announced on Tuesday its entry into the lithium industry. The company acquired two oilfield areas with the intention of building a "commercial-scale" lithium business in the US. Chevron stated that in the future, it will utilize the "Direct Lithium Extraction" (DLE) process at oilfields to extract lithium from brine. [Coinbase to Seek SEC Approval for Tokenized Equities] Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange and newly added member of the S&P 500 Index, revealed that the company is seeking approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a "tokenized equities" service. [Eli Lilly to Acquire Gene-Editing Startup Verve for $1.3 Billion] On Tuesday Eastern Time, US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly announced that it would acquire gene-editing startup Verve Therapeutics for up to $1.3 billion. In response to this news, Verve's stock price closed up 81.50% on Tuesday. [JPMorgan Chase Launches Deposit Token JPMD, Emphasizing It's Different from Stablecoins] JPMorgan Chase stated on Tuesday that it plans to launch a so-called deposit token, JPMD, on Coinbase's public blockchain Base, which is built on the Ethereum network. The token will provide customers with 24/7 settlement services and the ability to pay interest to holders. The Wall Street giant stated that this is a so-called "permissioned token," meaning it is limited to JPMorgan Chase's institutional clients only—different from most publicly circulating stablecoins. [Tesla's Stock Falls Due to Temporary Production Halt News] Tesla's stock price fell by 3.88% on Tuesday amid news that the company would suspend production of the Cybertruck and Model Y car models at its Austin, Texas, factory for a week. It is reported that the production halt for maintenance will begin on June 30, marking the third similar shutdown at the Austin factory in the past year. [Meta to Launch AI Glasses in Collaboration with Prada and Oakley] Market news on Tuesday reported that Meta and its AI glasses partner EssilorLuxottica plan to launch new AI glasses products under the Prada and Oakley brands. Meta had already announced on Monday that it would unveil a new collaboration with Oakley this week, focusing on sports scenarios. [Intel Reportedly to Cut Up to 20% of Employees in Its Foundry Division] An internal memo disclosed by the media on Tuesday revealed that Intel plans to reduce its workforce in the foundry business unit by 15% to 20% starting from July. It remains unclear how many employees will be directly affected by this move. Regulatory filings indicate that as of the end of last year, Intel had a total of 108,900 employees.

SMM, June 17: Metal Market: As of the midday close, domestic base metals generally fell, with SHFE nickel down 0.96%. SHFE copper rose 0.24%, and SHFE aluminum edged up. SHFE zinc slightly declined, while SHFE lead and SHFE tin fell 0.18% and 0.39%, respectively. In addition, the main continuous futures contract for foundry aluminum rose 0.62%, and the main continuous contract for alumina increased 0.28%. Lithium carbonate rose 0.67%, silicon metal rose 1.1%, and polysilicon rose 0.24%. The ferrous metals series showed mixed performance, with iron ore down 0.21%, rebar edging up, and HRC slightly declining. Stainless steel fell 0.36%. In terms of coking coal and coke: coking coal rose 1.02%, and coke rose 0.92%. In the overseas metal market, as of 11:42 a.m., LME metals all fell, with LME copper, LME tin, LME aluminum, and LME nickel all declining within 0.5%. LME aluminum fell 0.6%, and LME zinc fell 0.7%. In precious metals, as of 11:42 a.m., COMEX gold fell 0.42%, and COMEX silver fell 0.3%. Domestically, SHFE gold fell 1.54%, and SHFE silver edged up. Citi predicts that gold prices will fall due to weak demand and a US Fed interest rate cut. Citi said that gold prices will pull back to below $3,000 per ounce in the coming quarters. As of the midday close, the most-traded contract for the European container shipping index fell 1.71%, closing at 2031.5. As of 11:42 a.m. on June 17, the midday futures market movements for some contracts were as follows: 》SMM Metal Spot Prices on June 17 Spot and Fundamentals Zinc: Today, the mainstream transaction prices for 0# zinc were concentrated in the range of 21,940-22,105 yuan/mt, with Shuangyan zinc trading at 22,060-22,235 yuan/mt, and 1# zinc mainly trading at 21,870-22,035 yuan/mt. In the morning session, the market offered premiums of 0-20 yuan/mt against the average price, with no quotes against the contract price... 》Click for details Macro Front Domestic: [US exhibitors at the 3rd China International Supply Chain Expo increase by 15% from the previous edition] The 3rd China International Supply Chain Expo will be held in Beijing from July 16 to July 20, with the theme of "Connecting the World, Creating a Shared Future". This morning (June 17), the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce the preparations for the 3rd Expo. Li Xingqian, Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, introduced that the number of US exhibitors at the 3rd Expo increased by 15% from the previous edition, continuing to rank first among overseas exhibitors. Relevant leaders from institutions such as the American Chamber of Commerce in China, the US Soybean Export Council, and the US Grains Council expressed that China is a very important market, and US companies are willing to continue investing in China, participating in China's economic growth and innovation, and making progress together with the Chinese market and development. Li Xingqian stated that the essence of China-US economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. Advancing mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the US aligns with the common interests of the business communities in both countries. (Cailian Press) [The PBOC Conducts RMB197.3 Billion in 7-Day Reverse Repo Operations Today] The People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted RMB197.3 billion in 7-day reverse repo operations today, with an operating interest rate of 1.40%, unchanged from the previous rate. RMB198.6 billion in reverse repos matured today. ► On June 17, the central parity rate of the RMB against the US dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market was 7.1746 RMB per US dollar. US dollar: As of 11:42, the US dollar index fell by 0.01% to 98.14. The market is looking forward to a series of monetary policy decisions from multiple central banks this week, with a primary focus on the US Fed. It is widely expected that the Fed will maintain interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its policy meeting on Wednesday. Comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell following the Fed's interest rate decision will be closely monitored for clues regarding the path of interest rate cuts. Other currencies: The Bank of Japan (BOJ) released its latest monetary policy statement, maintaining its policy interest rate unchanged at 0.5% and slowing the pace of reducing its bond purchases. Starting from April 2026, the BOJ will reduce its bond purchases by JPY200 billion each quarter. The BOJ stated that the Japanese economy is experiencing a mild recovery, although there are still signs of weakness. (Cailian Press) Data: Today, data including the BOJ's policy benchmark interest rate for June 17, the ZEW Economic Sentiment Index for the Eurozone and Germany in June, the monthly and annual rates of the US import price index for May, the monthly rates of US retail sales and core retail sales for May, the annual rate of US retail sales for May, the monthly rate of the US retail sales control group associated with GDP, seasonally adjusted, for May, the monthly rate of US industrial production for May, the capacity utilisation rate of the US for May, the monthly rate of US manufacturing output for May, the manufacturing capacity utilisation rate of the US for May, and the annual rate of US industrial production, seasonally adjusted, for May, will be released. Additionally, it is noteworthy that RMB182 billion in 1-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans mature today; BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda will hold a monetary policy press conference; the BOJ will announce its interest rate decision; and US President Trump will visit Canada from June 15 to 17 to attend the G7 Leaders' Summit. Crude oil: Both WTI and Brent crude oil futures rose. As of 11:42, WTI crude oil increased by 0.47%, and Brent crude oil increased by 0.44%. Heightened tensions in the Middle East have increased the likelihood of deeper instability and disruptions to oil supplies in the region, supporting oil prices. OPEC and its allies, including Russia (OPEC+), stated on Monday that the global economy is expected to remain resilient in the second half of this year. OPEC also revised down its forecast for the growth in oil supply from the US and other non-OPEC countries in 2026. (Webstock Inc.) Spot Market Overview: ► Spot premiums surged significantly after contract rollover, but downstream procurement remained moderate. [SMM South China Spot Copper] ► Trading performance in the spot market was sluggish, with downstream players focusing on executing long-term contracts. [SMM North China Spot Copper] ► Shanghai Zinc: Futures market edged higher, with downstream players resuming wait-and-see stance. [SMM Midday Review] ► Ningbo Zinc: Imports at low prices exert pressure, with premiums continuing to decline. [SMM Midday Review] Midday reviews for other metal spot markets will be updated later. Please refresh to view.