US dollar falls, metals generally rise, alumina gains over 2%, SHFE silver breaks above 9,000 to hit a record high [SMM Daily Review]

SMM News on June 18:

Metal Market:

As of the daytime close, domestic market base metals generally rose, with SHFE aluminum leading the gains with a 1.35% increase. SHFE zinc rose by 0.85%, while SHFE lead fell by 0.68% and SHFE nickel by 0.42%. The remaining metals experienced minor fluctuations in their gains. The main alumina contract rose by 2.31%, recording two consecutive days of gains. The main casting aluminum contract rose by 0.95%.

In addition, lithium carbonate rose by 0.1%, polysilicon fell by 2%, and silicon metal rose by 1.09%. The main European container shipping contract rose by 3.18%.

In the ferrous metals series, iron ore fell by 0.5%, HRC rose by 0.32%. In the coking coal and coke sector, coking coal fell by 0.57%, while coke rose by 0.62%.

In the overseas market, as of 15:02, overseas market base metals generally rose, with LME tin leading the gains with a 0.94% increase. LME zinc rose by 0.63%, and LME copper by 0.48%. The remaining metals experienced minor fluctuations in their gains.

In precious metals, as of 15:02, COMEX gold fell by 0.13%, while COMEX silver rose by 0.39%, reaching a high of $37.405 per ounce during the session, a new high since March 2012. Domestically, SHFE gold fell by 0.21%, while SHFE silver rose by 2.35%. Notably, SHFE silver surged to a high of 9,075 yuan/kg during the session, a new all-time high since its listing.

Market conditions as of 15:02 today

》Click to view SMM Market Dashboard

Macro Front

Domestic:

[US exhibitors at the 3rd 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 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. The second is to establish an international operation center for the digital yuan. This will promote the international operation of the digital yuan and the development of financial market businesses, serving digital financial innovation. The third is to establish personal credit reporting agencies. These will provide diversified and differentiated personal credit reporting products for financial institutions, further improving the social credit reporting system. 》Click to view 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] Today, at the 2025 Lujiazui Forum, Li Yunze, Director of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, stated that in recent years, the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center has achieved a series of new progress and breakthroughs. During the forum, the National Financial Regulatory Administration and the Shanghai Municipal Government will jointly release an action plan to support the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center, introducing a series of deployment measures. These include 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. (Cailian Press)

[State Administration of Foreign Exchange to Implement a Package of Innovative Foreign Exchange 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 innovative foreign exchange 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 strategy to enhance the pilot free trade zones.

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

►On June 18, the central parity rate of the RMB in the interbank foreign exchange market was set at 7.1761 RMB per US dollar.

US dollar:

As of 15:02, the US dollar index fell by 0.25% to 98.57. The market generally expects the US Fed to remain on hold this time, but expectations for Fed easing in H2 have risen. Attention should be paid to the Fed's policy stance and forecasts for future economic trends early tomorrow morning. The market expects the Fed to maintain the benchmark interest rate within the range of 4.25%-4.50%. However, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore stated that risks from the Middle East conflict and the slowdown in global economic growth may prompt the Fed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points in July, earlier than the current market expectation of September.

US retail sales in May recorded the largest decline since the beginning of the year, indicating that new tariffs have curbed consumer spending, particularly in the automotive sector. Data released by the US Department of Commerce on Tuesday showed that retail sales, unadjusted for inflation, fell by 0.9% MoM in May, following a revised decline of 0.1% in April. Retail sales excluding automobiles fell by 0.3%.

Macro:

Today, data such as the UK's May CPI YoY, UK's May core CPI YoY, UK's May retail price index YoY, Eurozone's May harmonized CPI YoY - unadjusted final value, Eurozone's May core harmonized CPI YoY - unadjusted final value, US's May preliminary monthly rate of building permits, US's May preliminary annualized total of building permits, US initial jobless claims for the week ending June 14, US continuing jobless claims for the week ending June 7, US May housing starts annualized monthly rate, and US May housing starts annualized total 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.

Crude Oil:

As of 15:02, both WTI and Brent crude oil prices fell by 0.2%. The Israel-Iran conflict has introduced new uncertainties into the global oil market. Additionally, analysts have stated that the market is primarily concerned about potential supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's seaborne oil passes.

From the inventory perspective, according to the report released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) in the early morning, US crude oil inventories fell sharply by 10.133 million barrels in the week ending June 13. This decline not only far exceeded market expectations but also marked the largest weekly drop since the week ending August 25, 2023. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories decreased slightly by 202,000 barrels, while distillate fuel oil inventories increased by 318,000 barrels. Before the API data was released, analysts generally expected crude oil inventories to decline by about 1.8 million barrels, gasoline inventories to increase by about 600,000 barrels, and distillate fuel oil inventories to increase by about 400,000 barrels during the week. The API report reflects that with the arrival of the traditional peak summer oil consumption season, market demand for petroleum products is rebounding, and the significant decline in crude oil inventories suggests that the current destocking trend may continue for some time. Influenced by these positive factors, the price increases of domestic and overseas crude oil futures have expanded significantly.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its monthly report for June, slightly lowering its demand forecast and significantly raising its supply growth projection. The IEA believes that the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict in the Middle East poses risks to the market but has not yet affected supply. If geopolitical risks do not spiral out of control, the surplus pressure will further increase. Specific data shows that the IEA has revised down its average oil demand growth forecast for 2025 to 720,000 barrels per day, from a previous estimate of 740,000 barrels per day, and for 2026 to 740,000 barrels per day, from a previous estimate of 760,000 barrels per day.

From the inventory perspective, according to the report released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) in the early morning, US crude oil inventories fell sharply by 10.133 million barrels in the week ending June 13. This decline not only far exceeded market expectations but also marked the largest weekly drop since the week ending August 25, 2023. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories decreased slightly by 202,000 barrels, while distillate fuel oil inventories increased by 318,000 barrels. Before the API data was released, analysts generally expected crude oil inventories to decline by about 1.8 million barrels, gasoline inventories to increase by about 600,000 barrels, and distillate fuel oil inventories to increase by about 400,000 barrels during the week. The API report reflects that as the traditional peak oil consumption season in summer approaches, market demand for petroleum products is rebounding. The significant decline in crude oil inventory suggests that the current trend of destocking may continue for some time. Influenced by these positive factors, the increase in crude oil futures prices in both domestic and overseas markets has expanded significantly.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its monthly report for June, in which it slightly lowered its demand forecast and significantly raised its supply growth estimate. The IEA believes that the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict in the Middle East poses risks to the market, but has not yet affected supply. If geopolitical risks do not spiral out of control, the surplus pressure will further intensify. Specific data shows that the IEA has revised down its average oil demand growth forecast for 2025 to 720,000 barrels per day, from a previous estimate of 740,000 barrels per day, and revised down its average oil demand growth forecast for 2026 to 740,000 barrels per day, from a previous estimate of 760,000 barrels per day. (Wenhua Comprehensive)

SMM Daily Review

►Aluminum prices approach the 21,000 resistance level, with aluminum scrap prices showing limited increases [Daily Review of Aluminum Scrap]

►June 18: SHFE aluminum surged unilaterally, destocking significantly hindered, and processing fees collapsed [Daily Review of Spot Aluminum Billet]

►[SMM Daily Review of Nickel Sulphate] June 18: Nickel salt prices maintained a downward trend

►Market fluctuations are relatively small, with spot prices temporarily stable [SMM Daily Review of EMM]

►[SMM Daily Review of MHP] June 18: Indonesian MHP prices slightly declined

►Traders lower quotes, rare earth prices slightly weaken [SMM Daily Review of Rare Earths]

►Silver prices surge significantly, attempting to break through previous highs, with spot-futures price spread widening and contango rising [SMM Daily Review]