Commodity Market Update

Advisory Bazaar Info Services

Metals Market (Midday Update)

China’s base metals market traded mixed during the midday session. SHFE copper gained 0.13%, while aluminum fell 0.40%, lead declined 1.25%, and nickel dropped 1.91%. Meanwhile, zinc advanced 1.02% and tin rose 0.36%.

Other Metals

Cast aluminum declined 0.21%, alumina slipped 0.34%, and lithium carbonate fell 1.02%. In contrast, silicon metal gained 0.86%, while polysilicon surged 7.11%.

Ferrous Metals

The ferrous complex remained under pressure. Iron ore fell 2.44%, rebar declined 0.86%, hot-rolled coil (HRC) eased 0.71%, stainless steel dropped 1.16%, coking coal fell 1.04%, and coke declined 1.37%.

LME Update

On the London Metal Exchange (LME), copper rose 0.17% and zinc gained 0.78%. Aluminum slipped 0.30%, lead declined 0.16%, tin fell 0.27%, and nickel dropped 1.42%.

Precious Metals

COMEX gold traded 0.27% higher, while silver gained 0.92%. In contrast, SHFE gold declined 0.57% and SHFE silver fell 0.48%. Platinum advanced 0.52%, whereas palladium edged down 0.21%.

Macro Update

* China’s Manufacturing PMI stood at 50.9 in July, remaining in expansion territory for the eighth consecutive month.

* China’s CSRC and Hong Kong’s SFC announced expanded cooperation across cross-market listings, ETFs, futures, and green finance initiatives.

* Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) officially launched 5-year RMB Government Bond Futures.

* The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) withdrew a net 562.5 billion yuan from the financial system through open market operations.

Dollar & Fed Update

The US Dollar Index eased 0.05% to 99.75. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are pricing in a 73.6% probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike by September.

Crude Oil

Crude oil prices witnessed a sharp decline, with WTI down 5.52% and Brent crude falling 4.90%. Prices came under pressure as the United States and Iran resumed negotiations, raising expectations of normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Additionally, increased production by OPEC+ further weighed on oil prices.