SMM, August 14: In H1, Pr-Nd prices rose significantly, and the results of the 10 companies related to the rare earth industry chain that had already reported rose to varying degrees. Boosted by the substantial rise in spot prices of minor metals such as germanium, tantalum, and indium this year, the semi-annual results of rare and dispersed metal companies such as Yunnan Germanium also showed notable growth. On the other hand, the AI computing power hardware expansion narrative continued to gain traction, and the market focused on expected incremental demand for rare and dispersed metals from optical modules and semiconductor targets. Combined with some market funds positioning early in the minor metals sector, the minor metals industry bucked the trend on August 14. As of the close on August 14, the minor metals sector was up 2.02%. Among individual stocks: China Rare Earth hit limit up, while China Rare Nonferrous, Shenghe Resources, Orient Tantalum, Huaxi Nonferrous, China Northern Rare Earth, and Xiamen Tungsten led gains. Spot Market Germanium According to SMM price data, on August 14, the average price of germanium ingot was 24,500 yuan/kg, unchanged from the previous trading day. Compared with the average price of 13,500 yuan/kg on December 31, 2025, the 24,500 yuan/kg average price of germanium ingot has risen 81.48% year to date. This year's rise in germanium ingot prices was mainly supported by tight supply, while overall stable demand from end-use industries provided demand-side support for firm germanium prices. Looking ahead, whether germanium prices can extend their gains will depend on the intensity of the tug-of-war between upstream and downstream and marginal changes in supply-demand fundamentals. Tantalum On August 14, the price of SMM tantalum ingot (Ta≥99.95%) was 6,200-6,300 yuan/kg, with an average price of 6,250 yuan/kg. Compared with the average price of 2,980 yuan/kg on December 31, 2025, the average price of 6,250 yuan/kg has risen 109.73% year to date. Tantalum prices have been supported by demand from emerging fields such as AI servers, but traditional downstream demand has been relatively weak, capping upside room to some extent. Looking ahead, as there has been no significant shift in the supply-demand pattern, tantalum ingot prices are expected to remain stable. Indium On August 14, the average price of refined indium was 5,450 yuan/kg, unchanged from the previous trading day. Compared with the average price of 2,825 yuan/kg on December 31, 2025, the average price of 5,450 yuan/kg has risen by 2,625 yuan/kg year to date, up 92.92%. In the medium and long term, as domestic substitution of indium phosphide is realized at an accelerating pace, profit distribution in China's indium industry chain is expected to shift upward. Pr-Nd oxide Pr-Nd oxide posted a significant gain in H1 this year, boosting earnings of related enterprises along the rare earth industry chain. A review of Pr-Nd oxide's H1 price performance shows: On June 30, the average price of Pr-Nd oxide was 742,500 yuan/mt, up 136,000 yuan/mt from 606,500 yuan/mt on December 31, 2025, an H1 gain of 22.42%. Meanwhile, its daily average price in H1 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, a YoY gain of 71.84%. On August 14, the average price of Pr-Nd oxide was 722,000 yuan/mt, up 0.98% from the previous trading day. Boosted by the recovery in Pr-Nd oxide futures prices, low-priced supply in the market tightened, suppliers slightly raised their offers, and this lifted Pr-Nd oxide prices somewhat. In the near term, as market trading activity gradually recovers, Pr-Nd product prices are expected to stop falling and rise. Recommended reading:

August 14: North China ports: 46% Australian lumps at 40-40.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi-carbonate ore at 32.2-32.7 yuan/mtu, down WoW; Gabonese ore at 37.8-38.2 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African high-iron ore at 28.5-29 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron ore at 35-35.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW. South China ports: 46% Australian lumps at 42.9-43.4 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi-carbonate ore at 36.3-36.8 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Gabonese ore at 40.6-41.1 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African high-iron ore at 31.2-31.7 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron ore at 38-38.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW. Demand for manganese ore was subdued, port spot cargoes were elevated, and port manganese ore prices would consolidate at lows in the short term.

August 13, 2026 The Chinese gold market showed a clear dichotomy in the first half of 2026: whilst demand for jewellery slumped amid record prices, physical investment products recorded strong growth. According to data from the China Gold Association (CGA), China’s total consumption rose slightly by 1.23 per cent to 511.41 tonnes (previous year: 505.21 tonnes). Investment demand offsets slump in jewellery High gold retail prices and changes to tax rules had a noticeable dampening effect on consumers. Nevertheless, there was a significant shift towards physical assets as a store of value: • Jewellery: −33.88 per cent to 132.13 tonnes • Bullion & coins: +28.42% to 339.34 tonnes • Industry & other: −2.90% to 39.94 tonnes Retail investors made targeted use of price corrections to make additional purchases via domestic banks. As a result, the investment sector more than fully offset the slump in the jewellery sector. Domestic production slumps – strategic focus on physical metal In parallel with the shift in demand, domestic supply contracted: China’s mining output from its own raw materials fell by 14.62 per cent to 152.91 tonnes. The main cause was regulatory environmental requirements and safety inspections, which led to temporary shutdowns. By contrast, the processing of imported ores rose by 4.62 per cent to 77.08 tonnes. Overall, domestic production thus fell by 9.01 per cent to 229.99 tonnes. For commodity investors, market expert Willem Middelkoop ( Commodity Discovery Fund ) places these developments within a broader macroeconomic context. He sees a familiar pattern in China’s approach: the state is systematically using price dips to make strategic purchases – much as it has done with oil and copper. Middelkoop does not interpret the recent consistent restriction by major Chinese banks on retail investors’ access to leveraged paper and futures trading on the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) as a market crisis. Rather, he sees it as a state-directed measure to defuse speculative overheating and a targeted redirection of private capital away from paper-based derivatives towards physically backed holdings. By curbing leveraged trades, financial institutions are reducing systemic risks in the domestic market and forcing capital to be tied up directly in physical assets. China thus remains the key driver of the global market: whilst high prices are dampening cyclical jewellery consumption, they are accelerating the strategic, long-term accumulation of physical metal. Against the backdrop of declining domestic production, this development is simultaneously exacerbating China’s structural dependence on imports of raw gold and ores – a trend that is likely to increasingly constrain physical liquidity on Western trading markets. Source： https://goldinvest.de/en/china-s-appetite-for-gold-is-growing-investors-are-increasingly-turning-to-gold-bars-and-coins

Australia exported 86.4 million tonnes of coking coal in January–July 2026, up 2.7% year on year. July exports reached 12.28 million tonnes, representing a 4.6% year-on-year increase. By destination, India’s imports of Australian coking coal fell 13% to 20.4 million tonnes, while Japan’s purchases rose 10% to 18.7 million tonnes and China’s surged 62% to 9.3 million tonnes. Calculations based on the reported figures show that the combined increase in shipments to China and Japan exceeded the decline in shipments to India, broadly accounting for Australia’s overall export growth.

Iron ore futures trended lower today. The most-traded DCE contract I2701 closed at 705 yuan/mt, down 0.21% from the previous trading session. Spot prices at Qingdao Port were basically flat compared with the previous trading day. Traders mostly followed prevailing market conditions, steel mills purchased as needed, and overall spot volumes so far have been moderate. SMM ten-port inventory survey data for this period show total inventory reached 106.95 million mt, a slight MoM increase of 360,000 mt; concentrate and lump ore continued destocking, while fine ore and pellets showed a slight inventory buildup. Iron ore concentrate prices currently remain firm; after pulling back in the previous period, prices have risen again. In contrast, fine ore prices remained stable due to relatively high inventories and relatively small demand fluctuations. Macro sentiment side, most market participants are currently wary of news-driven risks ahead and therefore prefer to take a wait-and-see approach. In the short term, from a fundamental perspective, iron ore prices are expected to move sideways in a narrow range, with limited upside and downside.

[Ferrochrome Market in the Doldrums, Ore-Side Offers Rise] August 13, 2026 News: Ferrochrome and chrome ore markets fluctuated slightly...

Data Source Statement: All data in this report, other than publicly available information, are derived from public information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, corporate financial reports, broker reports, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data, customs import and export data, and various data published by major associations and institutions), market communication, and SMM’s internal database models. They are produced through comprehensive analysis and reasonable inference by the research team, are for reference only, and do not constitute decision-making advice. Shanghai Metals Market reserves the right of final interpretation of this statement and the right to adjust and amend its content based on actual circumstances.

Published: Aug 11, 2026 - 11:44 PM (Kitco News) – China’s total gold consumption rose 1.23% in the first half of 2026, according to the latest data from the China Gold Association (CGA). Gold consumption in China came in at 511.41 tonnes in the first six months of the year, the CGA said, compared to 505.21 tonnes in H1 2025, with strong investment demand offsetting the still-sluggish jewelry sector. The association noted that the country's gold consumption patterns were in flux, as the combination of sharp price fluctuations above historically high levels and newly-implemented domestic gold tax policies impacted consumer purchasing habits. The impacts were most pronounced in jewelry and in investment, though for opposite reasons. Demand for gold jewelry plummeted 33.88% year-over-year to 132.13 tonnes, with consumers hesitant to make purchases amid soaring retail prices. On the other hand, burgeoning investment demand saw the consumption of gold bars and coins to 339.34 tonnes, an increase of 28.42%. The CGA said the periodic price pullbacks have served to repeatedly stimulate purchases of gold bars through domestic banking channels, even as persistently high gold prices have pushed up production costs for industrial enterprises, contributing to a 2.9% decline in industrial and other gold uses, which totaled 39.94% tonnes for the first six months of 2026. On the supply side, China's gold output from domestic raw materials dropped 14.62% year-over-year to 152.91 tonnes. The CGA attributed the decline to comprehensive safety inspections, rectifications and special environmental governance campaigns in key gold-producing provinces, which led to temporary production halts at some major gold mines. Gold produced from imported raw materials, however, rose 4.62% or 3.40 tonnes to 77.08 tonnes in H1. China produced a combined 229.99 tonnes of gold from both domestic and imported raw materials, a 9.01% decrease compared to the same period in 2025. In a recent interview with Kitco News, Willem Middelkoop, founder of the Commodity Discovery Fund and author of ‘The Big Reset’, said the government of China actually favors a lower gold price right now because it is still buying, and that the monetary "reset" he has forecast for over a decade is no longer a prediction but a process already underway. "A monetary reset is a more gradual process. It's not a binary event," Middelkoop said. "We're in the first innings." "China is a very active buyer of dips," Middelkoop said, adding that the same pattern holds in copper and oil. Asked about Chinese banks pulling retail access to the Shanghai Gold Exchange, Middelkoop said he read the move as China steering savers away from paper trading and toward physical metal, not as a crackdown. He said China has long run a dual strategy, citing a program he called "Storing Gold with the People" that he said appears in a Chinese publication from 2011 or 2012. "China understands it's all about owning the physical stuff in the end," he said. Major Chinese lenders including ICBC halted retail Shanghai Gold Exchange trading after the July 24 settlement, covering both spot and deferred contracts, according to bank notices and Chinese financial press. Source： https://www.kitco.com/news/article/2026-08-11/chinas-gold-consumption-rises-123-h1-jewelry-sales-slump-while-investment

August 7, 2026 Gold ETFs saw a marked turnaround in July: after two months of outflows, these physically backed, exchange-traded funds began attracting capital once again. According to data from the World Gold Council (WGC), global holdings rose by 23.5 tonnes (just under US$3 billion). This development signals a return of investor interest and coincided with the end of the gold price’s four-month losing streak; the price has since risen above the US$4,200 mark once again. Return of tactical buyers and a cautious North America The WGC believes that market participants used the previously lower gold prices, close to US$4,000 per ounce, as an entry point to re-enter the market and diversify their portfolios. This led to a rise of around 2 per cent in the gold price in July. Whilst inflows were broadly supported globally, the recovery in North America was extremely subdued, with an increase of just 0.3 tonnes (US$71 million). This modest growth was not sufficient to significantly reduce the year-to-date deficit. North America therefore remains the only region to record net outflows so far this year. Europe dominates in July, Asia remains the strongest driver for the year The global build-up in holdings was led by European investors. Gold ETFs listed in Europe recorded inflows of 17.3 tonnes (US$2 billion) in July, marking the second-strongest month of the year for this region. Demand was particularly strong in the UK and Switzerland, which together have attracted around US$5 billion since the start of the year. The WGC recognises a cyclical pattern here: as earlier in the year, European investors deliberately rebuilt their positions following periods of significant market weakness. In Asia, although demand slowed in July, it remained on a growth trajectory with an increase of 4.8 tonnes (US$616 million). China led the regional gains, driven by a search for ‘safe havens’ following sharp falls in the stock market and falling local yields. Whilst India recorded moderate inflows, Japanese ETFs suffered outflows due to rising local yields. Overall, the market is showing a shift in momentum: since the start of the year, global net inflows into gold ETFs have totalled US$11 billion (39 tonnes). Despite a strong July in Europe, Asian funds remain the biggest driver of ETF holdings in the year to date. Source： https://goldinvest.de/en/gold-etfs-europe-leads-turnaround-following-two-month-slump

[Tug-of-War Between Sellers and Buyers in Stalemate, Chrome Market Temporarily Stable] News on August 12, 2026: The ferrochrome and chrome ore market fluctuated slightly...