Metals Mostly Decline, LME Lead Rises Nearly 2%, LME Aluminum, COMEX Silver, Coking Coal and Coke Lead the Declines [[Overnight Market Performance]]

SMM May 8 News:

Metal Market:

Overnight, the domestic market's base metals nearly fell across the board, with SHFE tin down 0.94%, SHFE copper down 0.74%, SHFE nickel down 0.35%, SHFE lead up 0.57%, SHFE aluminum down 1.55%, and SHFE zinc down 0.49%. In addition, alumina fell 0.22%.

Overnight, the ferrous metals series all fell, with iron ore down 1.12%, stainless steel slightly down, rebar down 0.39%, and HRC down 0.53%. For coking coal and coke: coking coal fell 2.57%, and coke fell 2.45%.

Overnight, LME base metals generally fell, with LME copper down 1.38%, LME lead up 1.9%, LME aluminum down 1.92%, LME zinc down 0.74%, LME tin down 1.08%, and LME nickel down 0.43%.

Overnight, precious metals: COMEX gold fell sharply by 1.47%, and COMEX silver fell 2.31%. Overnight, SHFE gold slightly rose by 0.07%, and SHFE silver fell 1.15%.

As of 8:15 a.m. on May 8, overnight closing prices

》Click to view SMM Futures Data Dashboard

Macro Front

Domestic:

【China's Foreign Exchange Reserves Rose 1.27% MoM in April, PBOC's Gold Reserves Increased for the Sixth Consecutive Month】 According to statistics from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), as of the end of April 2025, China's foreign exchange reserves stood at $3,281.7 billion, up $41 billion from the end of March, representing a 1.27% increase. Official reserve asset data released by SAFE showed that China's gold reserves at the end of April were 73.77 million ounces, up 70,000 ounces MoM, marking the sixth consecutive month of gold reserve increases. 》Click to view details

【China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) Issues Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of Public Funds】 In line with the decision made at the Central Political Bureau meeting on September 26, 2024, to "steadily advance the reform of public funds," the CSRC recently publicly issued the Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of Public Funds. The Action Plan emphasizes the Party's overall leadership over the public fund industry, highlights the political and people-oriented nature of the industry's development, adheres to an investor-centric development philosophy, and focuses on strengthening supervision, preventing risks, and promoting high-quality development as its main lines. It explores the establishment of a new development model for public funds suited to China's national and market conditions. Adhering to a problem-oriented and goal-oriented approach, the Action Plan proposes a series of reform measures in response to market and social concerns, urging industry institutions such as fund companies and fund sales agencies to shift their focus from "scale expansion" to "return enhancement," thereby forming a "turning point" for the industry's high-quality development. The Action Plan outlines 25 measures, including optimizing the fee structure for actively managed equity funds, strengthening the alignment of interests between fund companies and investors, and enhancing the industry's ability to serve investors.》Click to view details

[CPCA: Estimated nationwide wholesale sales of passenger NEVs by producers reached 1.14 million units in April, up 42% YoY]Based on comprehensive preliminary monthly data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), nationwide wholesale sales of passenger NEVs by producers reached 1.14 million units in April, up 42% YoY and up 1% MoM. The cumulative wholesale sales for the period from January to April this year are estimated to reach 4 million units, up 42% YoY.

US dollar:

The overnight US dollar index rose by 0.64% to close at 99.88. The US Fed kept its benchmark interest rate within the range of 4.25%-4.50%, but indicated that the risks of rising inflation and unemployment have intensified. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) judged that the risks of rising unemployment and inflation have increased, and the outlook for the US economy remains uncertain. After the interest rate decision, Fed Chairman Powell acknowledged that uncertainty has affected the sentiment of individuals and businesses, but the economy itself remains healthy. Additionally, he stated that an interest rate cut is possible if economic data supports it, but policy cannot be preemptively changed before the situation becomes clearer.

Other currencies:

The retail outlook in the Eurozone is bleak, with weak consumer willingness to spend. Eurozone consumers are likely to remain reluctant to spend this year amid trade uncertainties and slowing wage growth, as noted in a report by Ankita Amajuri of Capital Economics. Retail sales in the Eurozone fell by 0.1% in March, and consumer confidence declined due to economic uncertainties triggered by US tariff policies. Looking ahead, while lower interest rates are expected to boost consumption, the impact will be partially offset by slowing growth in real incomes. (Huitong Finance)

Macro:

Today, data to be released include the base rate for Hong Kong, China on May 8, the monthly rate of seasonally adjusted industrial output in Germany for March, the annual rate of industrial output in Germany for March adjusted for working days, the monthly rate of seasonally adjusted exports in Germany for March, the Bank of England's base rate for May, the number of initial jobless claims in the US for the week ending May 3, the number of continuing jobless claims in the US for the week ending April 26, the final monthly rate of wholesale inventories in the US for March, the 1-year inflation expectations of the New York Fed for the US in April, and the 3-year inflation expectations of the New York Fed for the US in April. Attention should also be paid to: the FOMC's announcement of the interest rate decision; Fed Chairman Powell's press conference on monetary policy; and the Bank of England's announcement of the interest rate decision.

Crude oil:

Both WTI and Brent crude oil futures fell overnight, with WTI down by 1.93% and Brent down by 1.93%. This was due to concerns about weak demand triggered by an unexpected increase in US gasoline inventories last week, as well as easing supply concerns amid hopes for a nuclear deal between Iran and the US.

Data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that US gasoline inventory unexpectedly increased last week, sparking market concerns about weak demand ahead of the US summer driving season, thereby putting pressure on the two major benchmark crude oils. In the week ending May 2, US gasoline inventory rose by 200,000 barrels to 225.7 million barrels, against market expectations of a 1.6 million barrel decline. (Webstock Inc.)