[SMM Steel Market Morning News] Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Secretary General of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Frances Adamson signed a memorandum of understanding

★Macro★

01 ★★★ [PBOC Achieves Net Injection of 444.6 Billion Yuan]

The PBOC conducted 520.1 billion yuan in 7-day reverse repo operations yesterday, with bid volume, awarded volume, and operation rate all at 520.1 billion yuan. The operation rate remained unchanged at 1.40%. As 7.55 billion yuan in 7-day reverse repos matured today, the net injection for the day reached 444.6 billion yuan.

02 ★★ [Symposium on Comprehensive Expansion of Domestic Demand Held in Beijing on July 16]

A symposium on comprehensive expansion of domestic demand was held in Beijing on July 16 to discuss key field trip findings by central committees of democratic parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and non-party personages. Wang Huning, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, attended and delivered remarks.

03 ★★ [Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Australian DFAT Secretary Frances Adamson Sign MoU]

On July 15, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Secretary Frances Adamson signed a memorandum of understanding on the implementation and review of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

★Industry & Downstream★

01 ★★★CPCA: NEV Retail Sales in China’s Passenger Vehicle Market Reached 332,000 Units from July 1-13, Up 26% YoY

CPCA data showed that from July 1-13, NEV retail sales in China’s passenger vehicle market reached 332,000 units, up 26% YoY but down 4% MoM, with an NEV retail penetration rate of 58.1%. Cumulative retail sales this year hit 5.801 million units, up 33% YoY. From July 1-13, NEV wholesale sales by passenger vehicle producers totaled 316,000 units, up 37% YoY and 1% MoM, with an NEV wholesale penetration rate of 56.9%. Cumulative wholesale sales this year reached 6.763 million units, up 37% YoY.

02 ★★★ [CPCA: Passenger Vehicle Retail Sales in China Reached 571,000 Units from July 1-13, Up 7% YoY]

CPCA data showed that from July 1-13, passenger vehicle retail sales in China reached 571,000 units, up 7% YoY but down 5% MoM. Cumulative retail sales this year stood at 11.473 million units, up 11% YoY. From July 1-13, passenger vehicle wholesale sales by producers totaled 555,000 units, up 34% YoY but down 7% MoM. Cumulative wholesale sales this year reached 13.835 million units, up 13% YoY.

03 ★★★ [Chongqing Aims to Add Over 5 Listed Companies in Smart and Connected NEV Sector by 2027]

The Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology recently solicited public comments on the "Chongqing Smart and Connected NEV Industry Chain 'Yulian Zhiqing' Action Plan (2025-2027)." The plan proposes enhancing financial support by encouraging municipal industrial funds and related sub-funds to increase investment in smart and connected NEV parts. It explores establishing a government-guided fund fault-tolerance mechanism for this sector, improving listing coordination and M&A financing services, and identifying qualified enterprises early for listing or M&A. Bank evaluation metrics will be refined to prioritize financial support for the smart and connected NEV industry chain. By 2027, Chongqing aims to add over 5 listed companies in this sector and launch more than 25 customized financial products for the automotive industry.

04 ★★★[Daily Average Hot Metal Output at Steel Mills Reached 2.4166 Million mt, Up 4,800 mt MoM]

According to the SMM survey, as of July 9, the blast furnace operating rate at 242 surveyed steel mills stood at 87.41%, up 0.13 percentage points MoM. The blast furnace capacity utilization rate was 89.41%, up 0.18 percentage points MoM. The daily average hot metal output at sampled steel mills reached 2.4166 million mt, up 4,800 mt MoM.

★Other Hot Topics★

⭕CISA: In early July, the daily average crude steel output at key steel enterprises was 2.097 million mt, down 1.5% MoM. Steel inventory stood at 15.07 million mt, down 2.4% from the previous 10-day period and 4.6% from the same period last month.

⭕Jiangsu Province issued its 2025 Air Pollution Prevention and Control Work Plan, guiding the transition from blast furnace-converter long-process steelmaking to electric furnace short-process steelmaking. By 2025, short-process steel output is targeted to exceed 20% of total production, while coal consumption is expected to drop by about 5% from 2020 levels.

⭕On July 16, German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp reached an agreement with its union on production cuts and layoffs, planning to shut multiple facilities—including blast furnaces and processing plants—by FY2026. This will reduce crude steel capacity from 11.7 million mt to 8.7-9 million mt.
⭕On July 15, China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited announced that in H1 2025, the company signed 20,273 new projects, with a cumulative new contract value of 775.357 billion yuan, up 4.98% YoY.

⭕Recently, Geely Holding Group announced that its subsidiary, Geely Automobile Holdings Limited, and Zeekr Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. officially signed a merger agreement, with Geely Automobile acquiring all remaining shares of Zeekr that it does not already own.

⭕In June, the Port of Los Angeles in the US handled 892,340 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a record high, representing an increase of approximately 8% compared to the same period last year and a 32% increase from May.