[SMM Titanium Spot Cargo Update: Titanium Dioxide Prices Continue to Decline, While Sponge Titanium Prices Remain High] On July 2, the titanium product market continued its divergent trend: titanium dioxide prices continued to decline, with rutile titanium dioxide priced at 13,250 yuan/mt and actual transactions reaching as low as 13,000 yuan/mt. Weak domestic demand, coupled with the European summer break, has put pressure on exports. Sponge titanium prices, on the other hand, rose against the trend to 53,500 yuan/mt, but high inventory levels and the launch of new capacity may constrain further price increases. It is expected that titanium dioxide prices will continue to decline in the short term, while sponge titanium prices, after remaining high, may face downward pressure.

At the beginning of June, driven by policy-related news, upstream suppliers significantly raised their quotes for Pr-Nd products. However, downstream demand failed to keep pace, and due to reluctance to accept high prices, Pr-Nd prices began to correct in mid-June. Nevertheless, in late June, influenced by factors such as long-term agreement deliveries at month-end, frequent tenders by major magnetic material manufacturers, and procurement by leading northern manufacturers, upstream suppliers' confidence strengthened, quotes became firmer, and Pr-Nd prices stabilized accordingly. During the same period, dysprosium and terbium prices generally remained in the doldrums. Overall, rare earth market prices in June mostly fluctuated rangebound, with production volumes increasing MoM: Pr-Nd oxide rose by 1.48%, dysprosium oxide fell by 0.31%, and terbium oxide declined by 1.6%. Production volumes of both light rare earth and medium-heavy rare earth increased MoM. Entering July, the rare earth market has remained stable overall.

On July 1, Hangzhou New Energy Investment and Development Co., Ltd. announced the shortlisted candidates for the centralised procurement of PV modules for 2025. The project was divided into two sections. The shortlisted candidate for Section 1 was Chint New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., with a bid price of 92,996,640 yuan and a unit price of 0.70452 yuan/W. The shortlisted candidate for Section 2 was GCL SI Technology Co., Ltd., with a bid price of 62,568,000 yuan and a unit price of 0.711 yuan/W.

Today, HRC futures surged strongly, with the most-traded contract closing at 3,191, representing a daily increase of 2.24%. In the spot market, spot prices rose by 10-40 yuan/mt, with trading volume picking up. In terms of supply, the impact from maintenance on hot-rolled production this week was 19,600 mt, a decrease of 32,800 mt WoW. Next week, the impact from maintenance on hot-rolled production is expected to be 2,800 mt, a decrease of 16,800 mt from this week. The impact from maintenance on hot-rolled production has reached its lowest point, further increasing the supply pressure of HRC. In terms of demand, the end-use demand from the manufacturing sector remains relatively resilient, but signs of seasonal decline are also emerging. On the cost side, according to the SMM survey, under the influence of production control policies, pig iron production decreased by 4,200 mt this week, but still remained at a high level. The support from furnace charge is unlikely to collapse in the short term. Looking ahead, the signal released by the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission meeting yesterday regarding addressing cut-throat competition has strengthened market expectations for the July Central Political Bureau meeting. The pressure on the supply and demand structure may be expected to ease temporarily. In reality, the fundamental contradictions in the HRC market are not yet acute, and coupled with moderate cost support, it is anticipated that the most-traded HRC futures contract will continue to consolidate at a high level in the short term.

[SMM Commentary on SHFE Tin Futures: Decline in U.S. Treasury Yields Prompts Partial Capital Inflows into the Metal Sector, Providing Sentiment Support for SHFE Tin Prices] On July 2, 2025, the most-traded SHFE tin contract SN2508 fluctuated at highs: It opened at 270,600 yuan/mt, slightly higher than the previous settlement price (269,840 yuan/mt). The intraday fluctuation range was 267,800–271,760 yuan/mt, with an amplitude of 1.47%.

[Domestic iron ore market brief: Iron ore concentrates prices in west Liaoning may rise slightly] Prices of iron ore concentrates in the west Liaoning region have remained relatively stable, with ex-factory prices (excluding tax, wet basis) for 66% grade iron ore concentrates ranging from 670 to 680 yuan/mt. Various inspections have been relatively frequent in the local area, leading to a relatively tight supply of iron ore concentrates production resources overall, which provides certain support for local ore prices.