China Aluminum Stocks Fall After Continuous Growth, SMM Says

CAAM data showed that in July, China’s auto sales totaled 2.584 million units, edging down YoY. Among them, NEVs performed strongly, with sales reaching 1.561 million units, up 23.7% YoY, and their sales share surpassing 60% for the first time. On the export side, China exported 1.043 million units of automobiles during the month, including 553,000 units of NEVs, up 1.5 times YoY.

The US July PPI data showed that inflationary pressures eased further: headline PPI was flat MoM, with the YoY increase pulling back to 4.7% from 5.5% in June; core PPI rose 0.2% MoM, below expectations of 0.3%, and the YoY increase fell to 4.2%. As a result, traders further lowered expectations for US Fed interest rate hikes in September.

Divisions within the US Fed over the next direction of monetary policy have become increasingly public. Cleveland Fed President Hammack reiterated a rate-hike stance, arguing that action is needed now, and warned of financial stability risks such as leverage in U.S. Treasuries and an AI bubble. Richmond Fed President Barkin, by contrast, advocated keeping interest rates unchanged, noting that inflation has mainly stemmed from temporary shocks, while also warning that AI investment and supply-chain issues could generate persistent price pressures.