[SMM Weekly Silicone Review: Rising Costs Lead to Higher DMC Quotations, While Procurement Demand Remains Sluggish] This week, DMC quotations from monomer enterprises in Shandong province stood at 10,800 yuan/mt, representing a WoW increase of 100 yuan/mt. DMC quotations from other monomer enterprises in China remained largely stable this week, with the mainstream transaction price center hovering around 10,800 yuan/mt. Low-price quotations in the domestic market rose slightly this week, while the matching degree of transactions declined. With downstream enterprises having sufficient raw material inventories for the time being and limited willingness to purchase, the market this week saw quotations rise but actual transaction prices remain unchanged for the time being. Downstream demand still awaits recovery during the "September-October peak season".

[SMM Social Inventory of Lead Ingots: Social Inventory of Lead Ingots Rises to Three-Month High, Supply Tightening May Ease Subsequent Inventory Buildup Pressure] This week, the SHFE lead 2507 contract completed delivery. Due to the transfer of lead ingot inventory brought about by transfer to delivery warehouse, the inventory in social warehouses of lead ingots continued to increase, with inventory in all five regions showing varying degrees of increase, primarily in warehouses in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai region.....

[SMM Daily Rare Earth Review: Market Confidence Boosted, Pr-Nd Prices Rise Significantly] Currently, rare earth market prices have risen significantly, mainly concentrated in the light rare earth market. The auction sales results of China Northern Rare Earth today showed that all alarm prices were fully transacted. As auction prices continue to rise, most industry participants are optimistic about downstream demand expectations, boosting market confidence and further driving up spot market quotes. Metal market prices have adjusted in line with the rise in oxide prices, with the market primarily engaging in tentative inquiries and fewer actual transactions, indicating a strong wait-and-see sentiment.

[SMM Analysis: Review of Chrome Market in 2025] In the first half of 2025, the chrome market generally showed an upward trend. The chrome ore market bottomed out and rebounded. After the Chinese New Year holiday, the futures price of 40-42% powder ore from South Africa rose first by $40 to $240/mt, and then was boosted by favorable expectations, increasing by another $50 to $300/mt in Q2. The spot price rose from 44 yuan/mtu to 62.5 yuan/mtu. The ferrochrome market gradually stabilized in Q1 and showed a strong upward trend in Q2. Affected by the severe supply surplus in 2024, the ferrochrome price continued to decline, hitting a low point in early 2025. The tender price of mainstream steel mills remained at a low level of 6,995 yuan/mt (50% metal content) for three months. Ferrochrome producers faced losses, which dampened their production enthusiasm, leading to a significant reduction in supply. Later, driven by a substantial increase in the planned production of downstream stainless steel, the tender and retail prices of ferrochrome continued to rise in Q2. Factory profits were restored, production continued to increase, and the fundamentals of supply and demand gradually improved.