US dollar falls, metals generally rise; SHFE aluminum gains 1.42%, SHFE silver hits new all-time high [SMM Midday Review]

SMM News on June 18:

Metal Market:

As of the midday close, most domestic base metals rose, with SHFE nickel down 0.5%. SHFE copper rose 0.15%, SHFE aluminum rose 1.42%. SHFE zinc rose 0.87%, SHFE tin rose 0.13%. SHFE lead fell 0.71%.

In addition, the main continuous futures contract for foundry aluminum rose 0.79%, and the main continuous contract for alumina rose 1.4%. Lithium carbonate rose 0.17%, silicon metal rose 0.95%, and polysilicon fell 0.47%.

The ferrous metals series generally rose, with iron ore down 0.72%, rebar up 0.13%, and HRC up 0.36. Stainless steel rose 0.04%. In the coking coal and coke sector: coking coal fell 0.44%, and coke rose 0.59%.

In the overseas metal market, as of 11:50 a.m., LME metals all rose, with LME copper, LME lead, LME aluminum, and LME nickel all up less than 0.4%. LME zinc rose 0.63%, and LME tin rose 0.73%.

In the precious metals market, as of 11:50 a.m., COMEX gold was flat at $3,407/oz, and COMEX silver rose 0.47%. Domestically, SHFE gold fell 0.17%, and SHFE silver rose 2.37%, hitting a record high of 9,047 yuan/kg during the session.

As of the midday close, the most-traded contract for the European container shipping index rose 4.49% to 2,118.6.

As of 11:50 a.m. on June 18, midday futures market movements for some contracts:

》SMM Metal Spot Prices on June 18

Spot and Fundamentals

Copper: Today, spot #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was quoted at a premium of 140-220 yuan/mt against the front-month contract, with an average premium of 180 yuan/mt, down 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. SX-EW copper was quoted at a premium of 80-100 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 90 yuan/mt, down 30 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was 78,840 yuan/mt, up 145 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, and the average price of SX-EW copper was 78,750 yuan/mt, up 155 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot Market: Inventories in Guangdong have fallen for two consecutive days, mainly due to fewer arrivals. Although inventories have decreased, warrants are flowing out, increasing the available supply. As a result, suppliers have had to lower prices to sell... 》Click for details

Macro Front

Domestic:

[US exhibitors at the third China International Supply Chain Expo increase by 15% compared to the previous edition] According to CCTV News, at the 2025 Lujiazui Forum, Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People's Bank of China, announced eight major financial policies. The first is to establish a trade repository for the interbank market. This will involve the high-frequency aggregation and systematic analysis of transaction data from various financial sub-markets, including interbank bonds, currencies, derivatives, gold, and bills, to serve financial institutions, macroeconomic regulation, and financial market supervision. Second, establish an international operation center for the digital yuan.Promote the international operation of the digital yuan and the development of financial market businesses to serve digital financial innovation.Third, establish personal credit reporting agencies.Provide diversified and differentiated personal credit reporting products for financial institutions to further improve the social credit reporting system.》Click for details

[Li Yunze: Will jointly release an action plan with the Shanghai Municipal Government to support the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center]At the 2025 Lujiazui Forum today, Li Yunze, Director of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, stated that in recent years, Shanghai has achieved a series of new progress and breakthroughs in the construction of an international financial center. During the forum, the National Financial Regulatory Administration will jointly release an action plan with the Shanghai Municipal Government to support the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center, introducing a series of deployment measures, including encouraging Shanghai to carry out innovative pilots in the fields of technology finance and cross-border finance, supporting eligible national banks to establish financial asset investment companies in Shanghai, and enhancing Shanghai's international reinsurance and shipping insurance underwriting capabilities and global service levels, among others. (Caixin)

[SAFE to Implement a Package of Foreign Exchange Innovation Policies in Pilot Free Trade Zones]Zhu Hexin, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China and Director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, stated at the 2025 Lujiazui Forum that the State Administration of Foreign Exchange will implement a package of foreign exchange innovation policies in pilot free trade zones. These include 10 facilitation policies, such as optimizing settlement for new-type international trade and expanding the Qualified Foreign Limited Partner (QFLP) pilot program, actively supporting the enhancement strategy of pilot free trade zones.

[National Mine Safety Administration: Public Consultation on the "Key R&D Catalog for Mine Intelligent Robots"]To thoroughly implement the "Guiding Opinions on Deeply Promoting the Intelligent Construction of Mines and Promoting Mine Safety Development" jointly issued by seven departments including the National Mine Safety Administration, and to accelerate the intelligent construction of mines and the R&D and application of robots, the General Office of the National Mine Safety Administration, in conjunction with relevant departments, has organized the drafting of the "Key R&D Catalog for Mine Intelligent Robots (Draft for Public Consultation)", which is now open for public consultation.

The People's Bank of China conducted 156.3 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repo operations today, with an operating interest rate of 1.40%, unchanged from the previous rate. As 164 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repos matured today, a net withdrawal of 7.7 billion yuan was realized.

►The central parity rate of the RMB against the US dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market on June 18 was 7.1761 yuan per US dollar.

US dollar aspect:

As of 11:50, the US dollar index fell by 0.14% to 98.68. Fed officials held a meeting on Tuesday, and the latest economic data may heighten their concerns that government policies (or at least the high degree of uncertainty surrounding these policies) will slow economic growth in the coming months. US retail sales fell more than expected in May, dragged down by a decline in car purchases, as the surge in advance buying by US consumers to avoid tariff-induced price increases has subsided. However, consumer spending is currently still supported by robust wage growth. The market generally expects the US Fed to keep its benchmark interest rate range unchanged at 4.25%-4.50%. The market will closely monitor the remarks of Fed Chairman Powell after the policy decision is announced, seeking signals for the future path of monetary policy.

In other currency news:

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) released its latest monetary policy statement, maintaining the policy interest rate at 0.5% and slowing the pace of reducing its bond-buying program. The BOJ will cut its bond purchases by 200 billion yen per quarter starting from April 2026. The BOJ stated that the Japanese economy is recovering mildly, but there are still some signs of weakness. (Cailian Press)

In terms of data:

Today, data including the UK's May CPI year-on-year rate, UK's May core CPI year-on-year rate, UK's May retail price index year-on-year rate, Eurozone's May harmonized CPI year-on-year rate - final unadjusted figure, Eurozone's May core harmonized CPI year-on-year rate - final unadjusted figure, US's May initial monthly rate of building permits, US's May initial annualized total of building permits, US's initial jobless claims for the week ending June 14, US's continuing jobless claims for the week ending June 7, US's May seasonally adjusted annualized monthly rate of housing starts, and US's May seasonally adjusted annualized total of housing starts will be released. In addition, it is worth noting that the Bank of Canada will release the minutes of its monetary policy meeting; Bank of Canada Governor Macklem will deliver a speech on Canada's economic outlook, inflation trends, and interest rates; and the 2025 Lujiazui Forum will be held in Shanghai.

In terms of crude oil:

Both WTI and Brent crude oil futures rose, with WTI up 0.31% and Brent up 0.35% as of 11:50. This is due to market concerns that the conflict between Iran and Israel may disrupt oil supplies, supporting oil prices. Analysts said the market is mainly concerned about supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's seaborne oil passes.

According to the CCTV News app, on the 17th local time, the US consumer news and business channel CNBC reported that the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), one of the world's largest shipping associations, said that the large-scale conflict between Israel and Iran has made the entire shipping industry uneasy, with many ships already choosing to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, and the number of ships passing through the Strait is declining. Amid the escalating deterioration of regional security, ocean freight rates through the Strait of Hormuz are expected to rise.

Iran is the third-largest oil producer among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), with a daily output of approximately 3.3 million barrels. However, analysts suggest that other OPEC members could utilize their spare capacity to offset the decline in Iran's production.

Data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) indicate a decrease in US crude oil and gasoline inventories, along with an increase in distillate fuel oil inventories, for the week ending June 13. Crude oil inventories fell by 10.1 million barrels, gasoline inventories decreased by 202,000 barrels, and distillate fuel oil inventories rose by 318,000 barrels. (Webstock Inc.)

Spot Market Overview:

► A significant outflow of warrants has increased market supply, leading to a notable decline in spot premiums. [SMM South China Spot Copper]

► Trading activity in the spot market remains low, with premiums and discounts weakening. [SMM North China Spot Copper]

► Shanghai Zinc: Premiums continue to deteriorate, with average trading performance. [SMM Midday Review]

► [SMM Nickel Midday Review] On June 18, nickel spot prices remained stable, with People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng announcing eight significant financial policies.

Midday reviews for other metal spot markets will be updated shortly. Please refresh for the latest information.