America Merrill Lynch bullish on gold in 2015

As auto sales growth slows down in China, many automakers have stepped up exports of hybrid car models. These hybrid vehicles fall outside the EU's tariff scope targeting Chinese-made pure EVs, and the China-EU agreement limiting hybrid vehicle exports will deal a fresh blow to these automakers. According to data from China Customs, in H1 this year, China's hybrid vehicle export value to the 27 EU countries surged to $7.5 billion, tripling from $2.5 billion in the same period last year. That figure is nearly nine times the $845 million export value for the whole of 2021.

The European Commission plans to introduce potential trade defense measures in December, aimed at narrowing the trade deficit with China and reducing dependence on the world's second-largest economy in critical materials. The European Commission reached an agreement with China on October 9, setting an annual import cap of 350,000 units for Chinese hybrid cars, with the quota expected to take effect in early December and be raised by 6% each year. This safeguard measure also applies to the EU's other trading partners and will remain in effect for four years. Chinese hybrid car model exports to Europe were originally expected to reach 800,000 units this year; after the measure takes effect, the market share of Chinese-made cars in the EU will drop from the current 12% to around 6%.

[Guangdong: Zinc price center moves lower, downstream dip-buying occurs] Guangdong 0# zinc was mainly traded at 25,745-25,940 yuan/mt, with mainstream brands quoted at a discount of 10 yuan/mt to a premium of 10 yuan/mt against the 2611 contract, and at a discount of 30 yuan/mt against Shanghai spot. The Shanghai-Guangdong price spread widened...