[SMM Steel Market Morning Brief] High-level Sino-US Economic and Trade Talks Begin in Geneva, Switzerland

★Macro★

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[China-US High-Level Economic and Trade Talks Begin in Geneva, Switzerland]

On the morning of the 10th local time, the China-US high-level economic and trade talks began in Geneva, Switzerland. He Lifeng, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, as the Chinese head of the China-US economic and trade talks, held talks with the US head, US Treasury Secretary Bessent, on the same day.

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[PBOC: Implement a Moderately Accommodative Monetary Policy Effectively]

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) released the Report on the Execution of China's Monetary Policy for Q1 2025. In the next phase, it will implement a moderately accommodative monetary policy effectively. Based on the domestic and overseas economic and financial situations and the operation of financial markets, it will flexibly adjust the intensity and pace of policy implementation, maintain ample liquidity, and ensure that the growth of aggregate social financing and money supply aligns with the expected targets for economic growth and the overall price level. It will take promoting a reasonable rebound in prices as an important consideration in monetary policy, and strive to keep prices at a reasonable level. It will unclog the monetary policy transmission mechanism, further improve the interest rate regulation framework, continuously strengthen the implementation and supervision of interest rate policies, reduce banks' liability costs, and drive down the overall social financing costs. It will leverage the dual functions of monetary policy tools in terms of both aggregate and structure, adhere to focusing on key areas, maintaining reasonable moderation, and advancing and retreating as appropriate, guiding financial institutions to increase support for technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance for small and micro enterprises, consumption expansion, and foreign trade stabilization. It will adhere to a managed floating exchange rate system based on market supply and demand, with reference to a basket of currencies for adjustment, uphold the decisive role of the market in exchange rate formation, enhance the resilience of the foreign exchange market, stabilize market expectations, resolutely correct procyclical behaviors in the market, dispose of behaviors that disrupt market order, resolutely guard against the risk of exchange rate overshooting, and keep the RMB exchange rate basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level. It will explore and expand the macroprudential and financial stability functions of the central bank, safeguard the stability of financial markets, and resolutely hold the bottom line of preventing systemic financial risks.

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[National Bureau of Statistics: China's Industrial Producer Ex-Factory Prices Fell 2.7% YoY in April 2025]

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in April 2025, China's industrial producer ex-factory prices fell 2.7% YoY and 0.4% MoM; industrial producer purchase prices fell 2.7% YoY and 0.6% MoM. On average from January to April, both industrial producer ex-factory prices and purchase prices fell 2.4% compared to the same period last year.

★Industries and Downstream Sectors★

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[CPCA: Retail Sales of Passenger NEVs Reached 905,000 Units in April, Up 33.9% YoY]

According to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), retail sales of passenger new energy vehicles (NEVs) reached 905,000 units in April, up 33.9% YoY and down 8.7% MoM; cumulative retail sales from January to April reached 3.324 million units, up 35.7%. In April, the retail penetration rate of NEVs in the overall domestic passenger vehicle market was 51.5%, an increase of 7 percentage points YoY.

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[Baosteel's Announcement on Adjusting Domestic Futures Selling Prices for Sheets & Plates in June 2025]

After research, Baosteel has decided to adjust the domestic sales prices for sheets & plates in June 2025 based on the prices in May 2025, as follows (all prices are tax-exclusive unless otherwise specified):
I. Hot-rolled Steel
The base price remains unchanged.

　　II. Heavy Plate
The base price remains unchanged.

　　III. Pickled Steel
The base price remains unchanged.

　　IV. Cold-rolled Steel
The base price remains unchanged.

　　V. Hot-dip Galvanized Steel
The base price remains unchanged.

　　VI. Electro-galvanized Steel
The base price remains unchanged.

　　VII. Aluminum-Zinc Alloy-Coated Steel
The base price remains unchanged.

　　VIII. Chalco Zn-Al-Mg Alloy-Coated Steel
The base price remains unchanged.

IX. High-Aluminum Zn-Al-Mg Alloy-Coated Steel
The base price remains unchanged.

　　X. Color-coated Steel
The base price remains unchanged.

　　XI. Non-oriented Silicon Steel
The base price remains unchanged.

　　XII. Oriented Silicon Steel
The base price remains unchanged.

　　XIII. For details on alloy surcharges and adjustments to coating and plating surcharges, please refer to the price list for June 2025.

　　XIV. This price adjustment notice shall come into effect on the date of its publication.

　　XV. The Marketing Center of Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. (Baosteel International) reserves the right to interpret this price adjustment notice.

　 Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.
Marketing Center (Baosteel International)
May 9, 2025

★Other Hot Topics★

⭕[National Export Control Coordination Mechanism: Deploying Special Action to Combat Smuggling and Export of Strategic Minerals]To thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, on May 9, 2025, the Office of the National Export Control Coordination Mechanism organized the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security, the General Administration of Customs, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the State Post Bureau to hold an on-site meeting in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, to deploy specific tasks for the special action to combat smuggling and export of strategic minerals.

⭕["Interest Rate Cut Wave" Continues! Deposit Rates Fully Enter the "1 Era"]Since the beginning of this year, the trend of lowering deposit rates has continued unabated. Reporters have noticed that since April, more than 20 commercial banks have lowered their listed fixed deposit rates. After the adjustments, "high-interest deposits" with rates above 3% have become rare in the market, and bank deposit rates have fully entered the "1 era."

⭕[Pakistan Claims Successful Interception of Indian Missile, All Assets of Pakistan Air Force Safe]Fawad Chaudhry, Pakistan's Minister for Information and Broadcasting, stated on the 10th local time that an Indian missile had been successfully intercepted by Pakistan's air defense system. All assets of the Pakistan Air Force are safe. In the early hours of that day, a loud explosion was heard in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Major General Babar Iftikhar, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), confirmed that India had launched a missile attack on Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindi, a city near the Pakistani capital Islamabad, in the early hours of that day. India has not yet responded to this incident.