Metals show mixed performance, with LME aluminum rising over 1%, polysilicon and SHFE nickel leading the declines, and the European container shipping index falling over 5% [SMM Midday Review]

SMM, June 23:

Metal Market:

As of the midday close, domestic base metals showed mixed performance. SHFE nickel fell by 1.41%, SHFE copper rose by 0.12%, and SHFE aluminum dropped by 0.32%. SHFE zinc decreased by 0.14%, while SHFE tin increased by 0.22%. SHFE lead saw a slight increase.

In addition, the main continuous futures contract for foundry aluminum fell by 0.13%, and alumina main continuous futures dropped by 0.14%. Lithium carbonate fell by 0.67%, silicon metal declined by 0.54%, and polysilicon dropped by 2.34%.

The ferrous metals series mostly fell, with iron ore rising by 0.5%, rebar decreasing by 0.13%, and HRC falling by 0.19%. Stainless steel dropped by 0.4%. In the coking coal and coke sector, coking coal rose by 0.44%, and coke fell by 0.58%.

In the overseas metal market, as of 11:45, LME metals generally rose. LME copper increased by 0.11%, while LME nickel fell by 0.97%. LME zinc rose by 0.17%, LME tin dropped by 0.97%, LME lead saw a slight increase, and LME aluminum rose by 1.08%.

In the precious metals market, as of 11:45, COMEX gold fell by 0.21%, and COMEX silver rose by 0.15%. Domestically, SHFE gold increased by 0.18%, and SHFE silver rose by 0.13%.

As of the midday close, the most-traded contract for the European Containerized Freight Index fell by 5.28%, closing at 1863.0.

As of 11:45 on June 23, the midday futures market conditions for some contracts were as follows:

》SMM Metal Spot Prices on June 23

Spot and Fundamentals

Zinc: Today, the mainstream transaction prices for 0# zinc were concentrated in the range of 21,960-22,125 yuan/mt. Shuangyan zinc was traded at 22,160-22,325 yuan/mt, and 1# zinc was mainly traded at 21,890-22,055 yuan/mt. In the morning session, the market offered premiums of 0-10 yuan/mt against the average price, with no quotes against the spot price... 》Click for details

Macro Front

Domestic Aspect:

[NPC: Amend and Improve Regulations on Addressing "Cut-throat Competition" on Platforms] Huang Haihua, spokesperson for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee and Director of the Research Office, stated at a press conference for spokespersons of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee on the 23rd that the second review draft of the amendments to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law will implement the spirit of the CPC Central Committee on comprehensively addressing "cut-throat competition" on platforms. It will add provisions on the fair competition review system, amend and improve regulations on addressing "cut-throat competition" on platforms, revise and improve relevant provisions on the coordination mechanism for anti-unfair competition work, and clarify the responsibilities of market supervision departments in anti-unfair competition work. Huang Haihua said that the obligations of platform operators to address unfair competition behaviors by operators within their platforms will be improved. The criteria for constituting confusing unfair competition behaviors, such as using others' trademarks as business names and setting others' product names or company names as search keywords, will be further clarified. It is reported that the second review draft of the revised bill will also clarify the constituent elements of unfair competition practices such as infringing on data rights and interests and malicious trading. It will focus on addressing the issue of large enterprises and other operators abusing their relatively advantageous positions to default on payments to small and medium-sized enterprises, and raise the level of administrative penalty authorities. (Financial Link)

[PBOC Net Withdraws RMB 21.5 Billion from Open Market Operations] The People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted RMB 220.5 billion in 7-day reverse repo operations today, with an operating interest rate of 1.40%, unchanged from the previous rate. As RMB 242 billion in 7-day reverse repos matured today, a net withdrawal of RMB 21.5 billion was realized.

[Hangzhou: Housing Provident Fund Can Be Used to Directly Pay Down Payment for Home Purchase] According to "Hangzhou Release," in order to alleviate the pressure on housing provident fund contributors to pay the down payment for home purchases, the Hangzhou Housing Provident Fund Management Center has launched a service allowing contributors to directly use their housing provident fund to pay the down payment for newly built commercial housing purchased in Hangzhou, with full online processing support. The online processing function for second-hand housing is currently under development and will be launched soon.

►The central parity rate of the RMB against the US dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market on June 23 was RMB 7.1710 per US dollar.

US dollar:

As of 11:45 a.m., the US dollar index rose by 0.24% to 99.02. US Fed policymakers were sharply divided last Friday over whether to continue combating inflation risks or cut interest rates as soon as possible, marking the first public comments since Fed officials decided to keep interest rates unchanged last Wednesday. In its latest monetary policy report submitted to Congress last Friday, the Fed stated that US inflation is somewhat elevated and the labor market conditions are robust, but suggested that it may only just be starting to feel the impact of the tariff hikes imposed by President Trump, and reiterated that the Fed could wait for greater clarity before taking action.

Other currencies:

Although ING expects the weakness of the US dollar to continue, it is cautious about predicting further significant declines. Additionally, ING expects the British pound to fall in the second half of this year. The bank does not expect the GBP/USD exchange rate to rise above 1.40, with a forecast of 1.33 in six months. The bank also expects further tax increases in the autumn, which will further erode confidence and increase the likelihood of significant interest rate cuts by the Bank of England. (FX678)

Data:

Data to be released today include the flash estimates of the SPGI Manufacturing PMI for June in France, Germany, and the Eurozone, the flash estimates of the SPGI Services PMI and Manufacturing PMI for June in the UK, the flash estimate of the SPGI Manufacturing PMI for June in the US, and the annualized total of existing home sales in the US for May. In addition, it is noteworthy that: Mary Daly, the 2027 FOMC voting member and president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, participated in a panel discussion on monetary policy insights at the 100th Annual Meeting of the Western Economic Association International; Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, delivered an introductory speech at a hearing held by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament; and Michelle Bowman, a governor of the US Fed, spoke on monetary policy and the banking sector.

Crude Oil Update:

Both WTI and Brent crude oil futures rose. As of 11:45, WTI crude oil was up 1.74%, and Brent crude oil was up 1.87%. The Israel-Iran conflict has repeatedly disrupted market sentiment in the crude oil market. After the US confirmed its involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, geopolitical risk premiums rebounded, leading to a strong rebound in oil prices in both domestic and overseas markets.

Renowned investment bank Goldman Sachs stated that although they still assume no significant disruptions to oil and natural gas supplies, the downside risks to energy supply and the upside risks to energy prices have increased.

US energy services company Baker Hughes reported in its closely watched report that the number of oil and natural gas rigs operated by US energy companies fell for the eighth consecutive week this week, the first such decline since September 2023. According to the Baker Hughes report, as of the week ending June 20, the number of active oil rigs in the US slipped by one to 438, the lowest level since October 2021; the number of natural gas rigs decreased by two to 111, the lowest level since May 30. (Webstock Inc.)

Spot Market Overview:

►Suppliers Lower Prices to Sell, Spot Premiums/Discounts Fall [SMM North China Spot Copper]

►Ningbo Zinc: Premiums Continue to Decline, Transaction Performance Moderate [SMM Midday Review]

►Shanghai Zinc: Limited Supply at the End of Long-Term Contract Period, Suppliers Refuse to Budge on Prices [SMM Midday Review]

►[SMM Survey] Miners Produce as Scheduled, Iron Ore Concentrates Production Rises Slightly

►China's Imports of Other Antimony Ores and Concentrates Fell 45.2% MoM in May [SMM Report]

Midday reviews of other metal spot markets will be updated shortly. Please refresh to view.