[SMM Steel Market Morning Express] Two Departments Urgently Allocate 430 Million Yuan of Central Natural Disaster Relief Funds

★ Macro ★

01 ★★★ [Ministries Urgently Allocate 430 Million Yuan in Central Natural Disaster Relief Funds to Support Disaster Response in 10 Provinces, Regions, and Cities]

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management urgently pre-allocated 430 million yuan of central natural disaster relief funds on July 14 to support flood and typhoon emergency response in 10 provinces (regions, municipalities), including Guangxi, Zhejiang, Hebei, Liaoning, Tianjin, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Sichuan. On top of the previously allocated 190 million yuan, an additional 150 million yuan was allocated to support Guangxi in continuing to prioritize the resettlement of affected people, transitional living assistance, and repair of damaged housing, to help the disaster area restore normal production and living order as quickly as possible. A further 280 million yuan was allocated to support the other nine provinces (municipalities) in coordinating search and rescue, transfer and resettlement of affected people, risk elimination, emergency disposal, secondary disaster hazard investigation, and emergency remediation, to minimize disaster losses.

02 ★★★ [PBOC to Conduct 1,400 Billion Yuan Outright Reverse Repo on July 15]

According to a PBOC announcement, in order to maintain ample liquidity in the banking system, the People's Bank of China will conduct a 1,400 billion yuan outright reverse repo operation on July 15, 2026, via fixed quantity, interest rate tender, and multiple price bidding, with a term of 6 months (184 days), maturing on January 15, 2027 (adjusted for holidays if necessary).

★ Industry & Downstream ★

01 ★★★ [SMM Weekly Maintenance Statistics]

According to SMM statistics, for the current week (July 11–17), the hot metal impact from blast furnace maintenance amounted to 1.3434 million mt, up 70,100 mt WoW. For next week (July 18–24), the hot metal impact from blast furnace maintenance is estimated at 1.4109 million mt, up 67,500 mt WoW.

For construction steel, this week’s impact from maintenance was 771,500 mt, down 73,300 mt WoW, and next week’s impact is estimated at 690,900 mt, down 80,600 mt WoW.

For hot-rolled products, this week’s maintenance impact was 179,300 mt, up 7,700 mt WoW, and next week’s impact is estimated at 185,100 mt, up 5,800 mt WoW.

02 ★★★ [SMM Electric Furnace Operating Rate] Impacted by Typhoon Weather and Tight Scrap Supply, EAF Operating Rate Continues to Decline

As of July 14, the operating rate of electric furnaces at 50 major steel mills producing construction steel nationwide was 36.58%, down 0.16 percentage points WoW; capacity utilization rate was 36.56%, down 0.09 ppts WoW; and daily average production of construction steel was 81,400 mt, down 200 mt WoW.

03 ★★ [Fujian: Strengthen Safety Governance of Aging Housing and Steadily Advance Urban Village Redevelopment]

The Fujian Provincial People’s Government recently released the Fujian Province “15th Five-Year Plan” for Urban Renewal. The Plan is framed around “building six types of cities,” specifying six aspects, 21 key tasks, and 14 major actions. Among them, it proposes accelerating the conversion of development momentum and building an innovative city, with four key tasks including fostering new drivers of high-quality development, promoting capacity enhancement and quality improvement in urban industries, stimulating urban domestic consumption potential, and enhancing the city’s openness to the outside world. It also promotes green and low-carbon transformation to build a beautiful city, with three key tasks including deepening urban ecological and environmental governance, improving the green and low-carbon level of buildings, and practicing green and low-carbon lifestyles. It establishes a firm safety baseline to build a resilient city, with five key tasks including strengthening safety governance of aging housing, steadily advancing urban village redevelopment, reinforcing urban infrastructure support, enhancing disaster prevention, reduction, and relief capabilities, and strictly managing work safety in construction projects.

04 ★★ [CPCA: June Pickup Truck Wholesale Sales at 62,000 Units, Up 29.1% YoY]

Data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) show that the pickup truck market exhibited stronger production and sales trends in the late spring and early summer, with particularly strong export momentum in June. In June 2026, pickup truck market sales reached 62,000 units, up 29.1% YoY and up 2.8% MoM, ranking as the second-highest monthly level for the corresponding period in the past five years. January-June sales totaled 343,000 units, up 11.9% YoY.

★ Other Hot Topics ★

⭕[Oman Reiterates Commitment to Cooperating with All Parties to Restore Freedom of Navigation in the Strait of Hormuz]The Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the 14th local time, stating that in response to recent discussions about navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Oman will continue to cooperate with all parties in a transparent and neutral manner to promote the restoration of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and ensure that relevant arrangements fully comply with international law. The statement affirmed that Oman will continue to fulfill its obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and called on all parties concerned to respect international law and handle related issues in accordance with it.

*This report is an original work and/or compilation of SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “SMM”), which holds copyright in accordance with the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China and other applicable laws and international treaties. Without written permission, no part of this report may be reproduced, modified, sold, transferred, displayed, translated, compiled, disseminated, or otherwise disclosed to any third party or licensed for third-party use. Any violation will result in SMM pursuing legal liability, including but not limited to claims for contractual breach, disgorgement of unjust enrichment, and compensation for direct and indirect losses. All content contained in this report, including but not limited to information, articles, data, charts, images, audio, video, logos, advertisements, trademarks, trade names, domain names, layout designs, and any or all other information, is protected by the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Trademark Law, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and other applicable laws and international treaties governing copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information rights, and other rights, and is owned or held by SMM and its relevant rights holders. Without written permission, no organization or individual may reproduce, modify, use, sell, transfer, display, translate, compile, disseminate, or otherwise disclose any of the above content to any third party or license it for third-party use. Violation will lead to legal action by SMM, including but not limited to claims for contractual breach, disgorgement of unjust enrichment, and compensation for direct and indirect losses. The views expressed in this report are based on market information collected and the comprehensive assessment of SMM’s research team. The information provided in this report is for reference only and is used at your own risk. This report does not constitute direct investment research or decision-making advice. Clients should exercise prudent judgment and not substitute this report for their own independent assessment. Any decisions made by clients are unrelated to SMM. Additionally, SMM bears no responsibility for any losses or liabilities arising from the unauthorized and illegal use of the views expressed in this report. SMM reserves the right to amend and ultimately interpret the terms of this disclaimer.