Futures market: Overnight, LME copper opened at $9,626/mt, initially touched a high of $9,665/mt, then fluctuated downward to a low of $9,580.5/mt during the session, and ended rangebound at $9,607/mt by the close, down 1.26%.

[SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Dragged down by LME's doldrums, SHFE zinc's center sinks] Last Friday, SHFE zinc recorded a small bearish candlestick, with the KDJ opening expanding downward. Affected by the decline in LME last Friday, SHFE zinc was in the doldrums, and smelters...

[SMM morning comment on zinc] LME zinc recorded three consecutive negative days last Friday, with the upper middle track of the Bollinger Bands forming suppression. Last Friday's non-farm payrolls data unexpectedly disappointed...

The SMM Imported Zinc Concentrate Index for this week is $78.75/dmt, with a 3.28% WoW increase. The SMM Imported Lead Concentrate average spot TC for this week is $-60/dmt, unchanged WoW.

[SHFE/LME price ratio continues to oscillate near 8.1, with zinc ingot import window remaining closed]: This week, the SHFE/LME price ratio slightly rebounded and oscillated near the level below 8.1, with the zinc ingot import window remaining closed. Overseas, frequent disruptions were caused by Trump's tariff issues. The US core PCE inflation rate for June unexpectedly rebounded to 2.8%, while consumer spending nearly stagnated. Expectations for US Fed interest rate cut weakened, and LME zinc pulled back from highs during the week.

[Zinc prices on SHFE and LME centers moved downward this week amid US dollar pressure and macro interference] At the beginning of the week, due to the continuous cooling of market expectations for an interest rate cut this month, coupled with the fact that the monthly rate of US durable goods orders in June last Friday was higher than both the expected and previous values, indicating continued economic resilience, the US dollar index continued to rise, and LME zinc prices fell...

[Consumption improved this week; Guangdong spot premiums/discounts basically flat week-on-week] This week, premiums/discounts in Guangdong were basically flat week-on-week. As of Friday this week, the mainstream 0# zinc quotations in Guangdong were at a discount of 65~15 yuan/mt against the market. The Shanghai-Guangdong price spread narrowed. Traders showed strong reluctance to budge on prices during the week, leading to a significant upward trend in premiums/discounts. From the supply and demand perspective, arrivals in Guangdong increased MoM this week, while the decline in zinc prices drove a rebound in downstream procurement enthusiasm. Market demand improved, and premiums/discounts rose...

[Under the off-season consumption, the operating rate of die-casting zinc alloy continues to decline] This week, the operating rate of die-casting zinc alloy was recorded at 48.24%, down 2.79 percentage points MoM. On the raw material side, the center of zinc prices declined somewhat this week, but amid the off-season consumption, die-casting zinc alloy enterprises still focused on just-in-time procurement, with raw material inventories only rising slightly MoM. On the finished product inventory side, driven by the continuous decline in zinc prices in the latter half of the week, end-users' enthusiasm for purchasing increased, and the pickup volume rose somewhat, resulting in a relatively significant decrease in enterprises' finished product inventories...

[Zinc oxide producers resume production, operating rates rise slightly] This week, the operating rate of zinc oxide producers was recorded at 56.13%, up 0.15% MoM. On the raw material side, although zinc prices declined this week, current end-use demand remains average. Coupled with the relatively difficult procurement of some raw materials, enterprises' raw material inventories this week were basically flat compared to last week. On the finished product inventories side, despite the decline in zinc prices, some enterprises recently completed equipment maintenance, and downstream players remained cautious due to average demand. As a result, finished product inventories also saw no significant changes...

[Slight Increase in Social Inventory This Week Due to Delayed Arrivals and Increased Purchases] According to SMM's communication and understanding, as of Monday this week (July 31), the total zinc ingot inventory across seven locations tracked by SMM was 103,200 mt, an increase of 4,900 mt from July 24 and a decrease of 500 mt from July 28, with a slight decline in domestic inventory...