US Dollar Weakens, Base Metals Rise Broadly; LME and SHFE Tin Up Over 2%, LME Copper and LME Aluminum Lead Gains; Gold and Silver Rebound [Overnight Market]

SMM News, May 29:

Metals market:

Overnight, domestic base metals mostly rose. SHFE copper was up 1.17%. SHFE aluminum was up 0.39%, SHFE lead was down 0.24%. SHFE zinc was up 0.89%. SHFE tin was up 2.66%. SHFE nickel was up 0.61%. In addition, the most-traded alumina futures contract was up 0.63%, and the most-traded casting aluminum futures contract was up 0.39%.

Overnight, ferrous metals mostly fell. Iron ore and hot-rolled coil edged down, stainless steel edged up 0.03%, and rebar was down 0.1%. Coking coal and coke: the most-traded coking coal futures contract was down 0.23%, and the most-traded coke futures contract was up 0.08%.

Overnight, overseas market metals saw LME base metals rise across the board. LME copper was up 1.71%. LME aluminum was up 1.47%, LME lead was up 0.9%. LME zinc was up 1.44%. LME tin was up 2.47%. LME nickel was up 1.06%.

Overnight precious metals:A weaker US dollar drove gold to reverse from losses to gains. Overnight COMEX gold ultimately rose 1.02%, and COMEX silver was up 1.36%. Overnight the most-traded SHFE gold contract was up 1.91%, and the most-traded SHFE silver contract was up 2.71%.

As of 7:24 AM on May 29, overnight closing prices:

Macro front

China:

[The State Council issued the Urban Renewal 15th Five-Year Plan: increasing improvement-oriented housing supply based on city-specific policies and regulating the development of the housing rental market]The State Council issued the Urban Renewal 15th Five-Year Plan. The plan proposed conducting a comprehensive survey of existing urban asset resources, promoting classified disposal of supplied but undeveloped land and projects under construction, and revitalizing idle and inefficient old factory buildings, commercial office spaces, commodity housing, and public housing. It called for accelerating the construction of a new model for real estate development, improving fundamental systems for commodity housing development, financing, and sales. The plan aims to optimize the supply of affordable housing, strengthen housing security for low-income urban families with housing difficulties, better meet the basic housing needs of working-class groups with housing difficulties and modest incomes, and gradually address the transitional housing difficulties of new urban residents and young people. It will increase improvement-oriented housing supply based on city-specific policies and regulate the development of the housing rental market. The plan promotes the transformation and development of real estate developers and their participation in urban renewal. It will deepen the reform of the housing provident fund system, expand its scope of use, strive to meet the diversified housing needs of contributors at different stages, and support flexible employment workers in participating in the housing provident fund system. It will also strengthen and regulate the management of existing urban infrastructure assets.

[The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) organized a video conference to arrange and deploy national energy supply assurance work for the summer peak]Recently, the NDRC organized the 2026 national video conference on energy supply assurance for the summer peak, thoroughly studying and implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC and all plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee, earnestly implementing the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and arranging energy supply assurance work for the summer peak. The meeting required that all regions and relevant enterprises fully recognize the importance, complexity, and long-term nature of summer peak energy supply assurance tasks, closely monitor key regions and critical periods, conduct rolling assessments, strengthen dispatching, fully implement all supply assurance measures, prepare and utilize supply assurance contingency plans, and ensure safe and stable energy operations during the summer peak. It called for ensuring stable generation and supply, securing the production and supply of primary energy sources such as coal and natural gas, strengthening coal transportation for power generation, and meeting peak power generation demand. It urged continued promotion of efficient fulfillment of medium and long-term contracts for electricity, thermal coal, and natural gas. It emphasized strengthening power equipment operation and maintenance management to achieve stable and reliable output, optimizing power dispatching, and fully leveraging the peak-shaving capacity of various power supply sources. (NDRC)

[Two departments jointly lay out systematic plans for AI metrology capacity building]The State Administration for Market Regulation and the NDRC jointly issued the Guidelines for AI Metrology System and Capacity Building (2026 Edition), systematically laying out AI metrology capacity building. The Guidelines are organized around six major sections—basic support, general technology, core technology, metrology technical specifications, metrology services for industry, and intelligent empowerment of metrology—bridging the "last mile" between laboratory innovation and industry application. Focusing on the challenge of "measurement inaccuracy" to make AI more trustworthy, the Guidelines deploy key technology research on AI system internal state monitoring and characterization to address pain points such as algorithmic "black boxes" and poor decision explainability, promoting the establishment of reliable, safe, and trustworthy metrology standards for AI, achieving "measurable, comparable, and traceable" AI technical performance. (CCTV News)

[SHFE takes restrictive position-opening regulatory measures against certain clients]SHFE announced that on May 28, 2026, three groups of accounts with actual control relationships exceeded the intraday position-opening trading volume limits on relevant contracts, reaching the exchange's action threshold. The trading behavior of the above clients violated Article 16 of the Shanghai Futures Exchange Measures for the Administration of Abnormal Trading Behavior. The exchange decided to impose restrictive position-opening regulatory measures on the relevant clients in the corresponding products. (Jin10 Data APP)

[Chinese automakers surpass the 100 million cumulative production and sales milestone for the first time]On the afternoon of May 28, SAIC delivered its 100 millionth vehicle, marking the birth of the first auto group in Chinese automotive history to surpass 100 million units in cumulative production and sales, in Shanghai. The emergence of China's first "100-million-unit automaker" is a vivid testament to over 70 years of Chinese automotive industry development from nothing to something, from weak to strong, and represents an important milestone for "Made in China." (Xinhua)

US dollar:

Overnight, the US dollar index fell 0.22% to 99.01. According to Wallstreetcn, April PCE inflation came in below expectations MoM, Q1 GDP annualized growth was revised down to 1.6%, new home sales declined sharply, and initial jobless claims also slightly exceeded expectations. Weak US data combined with ceasefire hopes jointly boosted interest rate cut expectations.

According to data released Thursday by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the US April PCE price index was 3.8% YoY, in line with expectations, the highest level since May 2023, with the Iran war driving energy prices higher as the main factor. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge—the core PCE price index (excluding food and energy)—rose 3.3% YoY in April, hitting a new high since November 2023. Meanwhile, another BEA report showed that US Q1 GDP annualized growth was revised down to 1.6%, below the initial estimate of 2.0%. The coexistence of weak consumption and elevated inflation made the market's judgment on the Fed's monetary policy direction increasingly complex. (Wallstreetcn)

Other currencies:

Meeting minutes released Thursday showed that the European Central Bank's decision to hold rates unchanged last month was a "difficult choice" for some policymakers; given signs of persistently high inflation, they found it hard to ignore the shock triggered by energy factors. The ECB noted in the minutes: "Several members indicated that this decision was a difficult choice; had a rate hike proposal been on the agenda for this meeting, they would not have opposed it." The ECB also stated: "Since the last meeting, the value of 'pausing rate hikes to preserve policy options' has diminished; at the same time, the approach of taking no monetary policy action and merely adopting a 'temporary disregard' attitude toward the current situation has become increasingly less appropriate." (Jin10 Data APP)

Macro:

Today will see the release of France's May CPI monthly preliminary reading, France's Q1 GDP annual final reading, Germany's May seasonally adjusted unemployment figures, Germany's May seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, Germany's May CPI monthly preliminary reading, Canada's March GDP monthly rate, and the US May Chicago PMI, among other data.

In addition, attention should be paid to: 2027 FOMC voter and Richmond Fed President Barkin participating in a fireside chat at a conference hosted by Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School; 2026 FOMC voter and Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari participating in an exchange event at Korea University; Bank of England Governor Bailey delivering a speech; 2028 FOMC voter and Kansas City Fed President Schmid delivering a speech; Fed Governor Bowman delivering a speech; and 2026 FOMC voter and Philadelphia Fed President Paulsen delivering a speech on the economic outlook.

Crude oil:

Thursday saw US-Iran ceasefire rumors flip-flopping, with oil prices swinging wildly throughout the day before closing flat. Reports of a memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran sent WTI futures plunging from $91 to near $87—before instantly rebounding to near $90. Ultimately, overnight WTI was down 0.17% and Brent was up 0.16%. (Wallstreetcn)

According to CCTV, on May 28 local time, US and Iranian negotiators reached an agreement framework on a 60-day memorandum of understanding, intended to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear issue, but still requiring final approval from US President Trump. US officials said the terms of the agreement were largely finalised before the 26th, but both sides still needed approval from their respective top leadership. The US side said Iran subsequently indicated it had obtained the necessary authorization and was ready to sign, but Iranian officials had not yet confirmed this. US officials said negotiators had briefed Trump on the final agreement, but he did not immediately approve it, stating he "needed a few days to consider."

According to CCTV, on May 28 local time, Saeed Aghalou, a member of the Iranian negotiating delegation's media team, stated that as of now, Iran has not agreed to any memorandum of understanding, nor has it confirmed to Pakistani mediators that it has approved the memorandum. Furthermore, he explicitly stated that Iran made no commitments on nuclear issues during negotiations with the US. A source close to the negotiating team said the text of the potential memorandum of understanding has not been finalised or confirmed. Western media reports claiming that an agreement between Iran and the US has been finalised are not true. Iran has not informed Pakistani mediators that the text has been finalised. Once finalised, Iran will announce the matter to Pakistani mediators and the public. Until then, any claims by Western sources that the matter has been "finalised" are not credible.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said on social media on the 28th that 23 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours. (Xinhua)

US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed: US crude oil imports from Iraq fell to zero last week, hitting a record low. For the week ending May 22, US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) inventory decreased by 9.063 million barrels to 365.1 million barrels, a decline of 2.42%. Commercial crude oil inventory excluding strategic reserves decreased by 3.327 million barrels to 442 million barrels, a decline of 0.75%. US commercial crude oil inventory excluding strategic reserves for the week ending May 22 was at its lowest since the week of February 27, 2026. US EIA Strategic Petroleum Reserve inventory for the week ending May 22 was at its lowest since the week of April 12, 2024. (Jin10 Data APP)