Domestic metal market outperforms overseas market, with lithium carbonate, SHFE zinc, SHFE copper, and alumina leading the gains. Coking coal rises by over 3% [SMM midday review]

SMM News on June 27:

Metal Market:

As of the midday close, nearly all domestic base metals futures rose, with SHFE copper up 1.41%, SHFE nickel up 0.73%, SHFE aluminum up 0.83%, SHFE zinc up 1.53%, SHFE tin up 0.76%, and SHFE lead down 0.26%.

Additionally, main aluminum casting futures rose 0.38%, main alumina futures climbed 1.06%, lithium carbonate jumped 2.48%, silicon metal rose 0.32%, and polysilicon gained 0.27%.

The ferrous metals series mostly rose, with iron ore up 1.85%, rebar up 0.78%, HRC up 0.78%, while stainless steel fell 0.16%. For coking coal and coke: coking coal surged 3.16%, and coke rose 1.77%.

Overseas metals were mostly lower as of 11:39, with LME copper down 0.1%, LME nickel down 0.22%, LME zinc unchanged at $2,768/mt, LME tin down 0.44%, LME lead down 0.25%, and LME aluminum down 0.14%.

Precious metals saw COMEX gold up 0.28% and COMEX silver up 0.61% as of 11:39; domestically, SHFE gold rose 0.56% and SHFE silver climbed 1.65%.

As of the midday close, the most-traded Europe container shipping futures contract rose 0.87% to 1,779.2 points.

Partial futures market data as of 11:39 on June 27:

》SMM Metal Spot Prices on June 27

Spot & Fundamentals

Copper: Today in Guangdong, #1 copper cathode spot premiums against the front-month contract ranged from 40 yuan/mt to 150 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 95 yuan/mt, up 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. SX-EW copper was quoted at discounts of 20 yuan/mt to 0 yuan/mt, averaging a 10 yuan/mt discount, up 30 yuan/mt from the previous session. The average #1 copper cathode price in Guangdong was 80,070 yuan/mt, up 1,205 yuan/mt, while SX-EW copper averaged 79,965 yuan/mt, up 1,195 yuan/mt. Spot Market: Guangdong inventories declined for the third consecutive day due to limited arrivals and increased outflows. The market is already trading cargoes with next month's invoices, with minimal impact from mid-year settlements... 》Click for details

Macro Front

Domestic:

[NBS: Jan-May Industrial Profits Down 1.1% YoY] NBS data shows profits at China's major industrial enterprises (annual sales ≥20 million yuan) declined 1.1% YoY in January-May 2025. State-owned holding enterprises reported 870.95 billion yuan in profits, down 7.4% YoY; joint-stock enterprises earned 2.01707 trillion yuan, down 1.5% YoY; foreign-funded, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan-invested enterprises achieved 685.68 billion yuan, up 0.3% YoY; and private enterprises secured 759.25 billion yuan, up 3.4% YoY. Yu Weining, a statistician from the Department of Industry of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), interpreted the profit data of industrial enterprises from January to May 2025: During the January-May period, industrial enterprises above designated size achieved a total profit of 2.72 trillion yuan, representing a year-over-year (YoY) decline. The performance presented the following characteristics: multiple factors contributed to the profit decline of industrial enterprises. Gross profits and operating revenues of industrial enterprises maintained growth. The equipment manufacturing sector played a stabilizing role. Breakthroughs in aerospace and marine sectors demonstrated the vitality of high-quality industrial development. The program of large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins continued to yield results. Profits of private and foreign-funded enterprises maintained growth. In the next phase, it is essential to thoroughly implement the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, implement more proactive macro policies, strengthen the domestic market, enhance innovation-driven development, steadily advance high-quality industrial development, and lay a solid foundation for the recovery of industrial enterprises' profitability. 》Click for details

[China's Logistics Market Size Ranks First Globally for 9 Consecutive Years, Exceeding 360 Trillion Yuan for First Time]The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) released the "China Logistics and Supply Chain Development Report (2024-2025)" today (June 27). According to the report, China's logistics market size has ranked first globally for nine consecutive years, with modern logistics further strengthening its support for the national economy. The report indicates that in 2024, China's total social logistics volume exceeded 360 trillion yuan for the first time, and the annual total revenue of the logistics industry reached 13.8 trillion yuan. By the end of 2024, the number of A-grade logistics enterprises in China surpassed 10,000 for the first time, including over 500 5A-grade enterprises representing the highest domestic standard. The industry is generally transitioning from "logistics" to "supply chain" development. A preliminary national logistics node network has taken shape. A survey of national logistics parks shows that the number of large-scale logistics parks reached 2,769.

The People's Bank of China conducted 525.9 billion yuan in 7-day reverse repo operations today at an interest rate of 1.40%, unchanged from previous operations. With 161.2 billion yuan in 7-day reverse repos maturing today, the operation resulted in a net injection of 364.7 billion yuan.

►The central parity rate of the RMB against the US dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market was set at 7.1620 yuan per US dollar on June 27.

US Dollar Update:

As of 11:39, the US dollar index fell 0.03% to 97.26. US data showed greater-than-estimated economic contraction in Q1 due to weak consumer spending and tariff-related disruptions. While initial jobless claims declined last week, dwindling job opportunities and corporate reluctance to hire amid economic uncertainty raised risks of a June unemployment rate increase. Markets await Friday's release of US core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data for further insights into the US Fed's monetary policy outlook.

Other currency updates:

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned that the Labour government's payroll tax is causing UK job losses, declining worker incomes, and rising food prices. He cautioned that inflation risks remain "two-sided." Speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference in London, Bailey stated he is "starting to hear more evidence of adjustments through pay and employment" following the £26 billion ($36 billion) employer National Insurance contribution increase that took effect in April. (Hexun Finance)

Data releases:

Today's releases include US May personal spending month-over-month, US May core PCE price index year-over-year, US June University of Michigan consumer sentiment final reading, Eurozone June industrial confidence index, Eurozone June economic confidence index, Eurozone June consumer confidence final reading, Japan June Tokyo CPI year-over-year, Japan May unemployment rate, and Canada April seasonally adjusted GDP year-over-year. Additionally, ECB President Christine Lagarde will deliver remarks, while 2026 FOMC voter and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, along with Fed Governor Lisa Cook, will participate in the "Fed Listens" event.

Crude oil markets:

Both oil futures rose slightly, with WTI crude up 0.48% and Brent crude up 0.46% as of 11:39. US summer driving season is boosting fuel demand. However, oil prices are expected to post weekly losses as the Iran-Israel ceasefire agreement holds, easing concerns about Middle East supply risks.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Wednesday that US crude, gasoline, and distillate inventories fell last week amid increased refining activity and demand. EIA data showed crude stocks declined by 5.8 million barrels to 415.1 million barrels in the week ending June 20, exceeding analyst expectations of a 797,000-barrel draw.

Iran's Nour News agency reported Thursday that a damaged facility at Phase 14 of the South Pars refinery in Iran's Bushehr province - previously targeted by Israeli strikes - has resumed operations, continuing to alleviate supply concerns. (Webstock Inc.)

Spot market overview:

►Inventories decline for 3rd week as suppliers refuse to budge on prices, but downstream buyers resist high prices [SMM South China Copper Spot]

►Rising copper prices suppress consumption, with market demand outlook remaining pessimistic [SMM North China Copper Spot]

►Shanghai zinc: Futures market continues to strengthen while premiums drop significantly [SMM Midday Review]

►[SMM Analysis] Strong fundamentals expected to support further iron ore price gains next week

Other metal spot market updates coming soon - please refresh for latest insights