Latest Intelligence on Bulk Raw Materials

Macro

1. [Bank Foreign Exchange Settlement and Sales] According to the statistics of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, in May 2025, banks settled RMB 1,386.1 billion and sold RMB 1,305.1 billion. From January to May 2025, banks settled RMB 6,723.5 billion and sold RMB 7,086.7 billion.

2. [Grading Machine] According to statistics from the China Construction Machinery Industry Association, 649 graders of various types were sold in May 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 3.28%, of which 112 were sold domestically, a year-on-year increase of 31.8%; and 537 were exported, a year-on-year decrease of 8.36%. From January to May 2025, a total of 3,580 graders were sold, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%; 677 were sold domestically, a year-on-year increase of 40.7%; and 2,903 were exported, a year-on-year increase of 10.1%.

3. [US Industrial Output] Data released by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday showed that industrial output fell 0.2% in May, and the April data was revised to an increase of 0.1%.

4. [US Retail Sales] US retail sales fell 0.9% month-on-month in May, the largest drop since March 2023, mainly dragged down by a decline in car purchases.

5. [German Economic Sentiment Index] Germany's ZEW Economic Sentiment Index rose 22.3 points month-on-month in June to 47.5 points, exceeding economists' expectations of 35.0 points, and rose to the highest level since March.

6. [Japanese Interest Rate] The Bank of Japan kept its target interest rate unchanged at 0.5%, in line with market expectations, and remained on hold for the third consecutive meeting.

7. [Japanese Exports] Data released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance on Wednesday showed that the country's exports in May fell 1.7% year-on-year, the first decline in eight months, against the backdrop of the US tariff policy hitting global trade.

Energy

1. [Crude Oil] On June 17, international crude oil futures jumped sharply. The settlement price of the August contract of WTI crude oil futures in the United States was $73.27 per barrel, an increase of $3.02 or 4.3%. The settlement price of the August contract of Brent crude oil futures was $76.45 per barrel, an increase of $3.22 or 4.4%. The conflict between Iran and Israel continues, and the escalation of geopolitical risks has raised the crude oil premium.

2. [Crude oil] On June 17, data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed that U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories fell last week, while distillate inventories rose. As of the week of June 13, crude oil inventories fell by 10.1 million barrels. Gasoline inventories fell by 202,000 barrels, and distillate inventories increased by 318,000 barrels.

3. [Crude oil] The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that it would lower its average oil demand growth forecast for 2025 to 720,000 barrels/day, from the previous estimate of 740,000 barrels/day; and lower its average oil demand growth forecast for 2026 to 740,000 barrels/day, from the previous estimate of 760,000 barrels/day.

4. [Crude oil] According to the OPEC monthly report, the average daily output of OPEC+ crude oil in May was 41.23 million barrels, an increase of 180,000 barrels from April. OPEC+ had previously announced an increase in production. OPEC maintains its forecast for global crude oil demand growth at 1.3 million barrels per day in 2025 and 1.28 million barrels per day in 2026.

5. [Coking coal] On June 17, Mongolia's ETT Company conducted an online auction for coking coal. The starting price of 1/3 coking coal A18.5, V33, S1.1, G70, Mt4.0 was 64.3 US dollars per ton, down 1.1 US dollars per ton from the previous June 4. The listing quantity of 32,000 tons was all unsold. The above prices do not include tax. The supply location is China's Ganqimaodu Port Supervision Area. The supply time is within 50 days after payment, and the last supply date is August 6, 2025.

6. [Energy] A report titled "Global Methane Tracker 2025" released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) pointed out that according to the latest enhanced measurement data from satellites and other sources, the fossil fuel sector accounts for nearly one-third of anthropogenic methane emissions, and methane emissions from the global energy sector still exceed 120 million tons per year.

Chemicals

1. [BDO] Recently, the European Commission issued an announcement stating that, at the request of the company, it initiated an anti-dumping investigation on 1,4-butanediol originating from China, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

2. [Lithium Carbonate] Donghua Technology recently stated that the Tibet Mining Zabuye Lithium Carbonate Project is designed to produce 9,600 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate and 2,400 tons of industrial-grade lithium carbonate per year.

3. [Methanol] Recently, Chitianhua stated on the investor interaction platform that the company's wholly-owned subsidiary Guizhou Chitianhua Tongzi Chemical Co., Ltd. has a designed annual methanol production capacity of 300,000 tons. In 2024, 327,500 tons of methanol will be produced and 328,100 tons of methanol will be sold.

4. [Epichlorohydrin] Binhua Group's epichlorohydrin production unit will be shut down on June 4, and is scheduled to be shut down for about 15 days; Hebei Jinbang will be shut down on June 3, and the restart time will be notified separately.

5. [BDO] Inner Mongolia DongRMB Technology-Dongjing Bio will auction and sell on the Henan Energy Trading Platform at 15:30 on June 17: 115 tons, bulk water superior BDO, auction price 8,600 RMB/ton wire transfer, East China July cycle delivery.

6. [MDI] Shanghai Huntsman MDI Factory's June polymer MDI listing price is 20,000 RMB/ton, and the pure MDI listing price is 22,500 RMB/ton, which is the same as last month.

7. [Chloroform] On June 18, Luxi Chemical's chloroform bulk water ex-factory price was 1,500 RMB/ton, down 50 RMB/ton, subject to actual negotiation.

8. [Melamine] On June 18, Hualu Hengsheng melamine's ex-factory price was 5,200 RMB/ton, down 300 RMB/ton from the previous quotation day.

9. [Chemicals] According to data released by the Korea Petrochemical Industry Association (KPIA), the annual output of South Korea's petrochemical industry is expected to drop by 1.4% in 2025, and the export volume is expected to decrease by 4.2%, while domestic demand is expected to increase by 2.3%.

Rubber and Plastic

1. [PP] Zhenhai Refining and Chemical (Sinopec East China) has three units with a PP production capacity of 800,000 tons/year. The current full-line load is normal, and the new 4th line is expected to be put into production on June 19. Line 1 is scheduled to enter a maintenance lasting about two months on June 18, and Line 3 has maintenance arrangements in the fourth quarter.

2. [PE] On June 17, ExxonMobil (Huizhou) Chemical Co., Ltd., 1#LLDPE unit produced 1018.AV; 2#LLDPE unit produced 1018.RA; LDPE unit has not yet been put into production, and is expected to be put into production in July.

3. [EPS] On June 17, Anhui Jiaxi EPS price was lowered, the price of ordinary materials was 9,700 RMB/ton, and the price of flame retardant materials was 9,900 RMB/ton, which was 50 RMB/ton lower than the previous day, and the actual order was negotiated.

4. [Butadiene rubber] On June 17, the market price of butadiene rubber in East China rose slightly. At present, the mainstream prices of Daqing, Yangzi and Qilu butadiene are 11,850~12,200 RMB/ton; some private brands are around 11,800~11,900 RMB/ton.

Textile

1. [Polyester yarn] On June 17, the market price of pure polyester yarn in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions was raised. The mainstream price of Dahua 32S is around 11,220 RMB/ton, +150 RMB/ton; the mainstream price of 50S is around 15,250 RMB/ton, +50 RMB/ton; the mainstream price of 32S Zhonghua is around 9,900 RMB/ton, +150 RMB/ton.

2. [Lint Cotton] The cotton production report released by the US Department of Agriculture shows that as of June 15, 2025, 85% of cotton planting in the United States has been completed, an increase of 9 percentage points from the previous week, a decrease of 4 percentage points from the same period last year, and a decrease of 5 percentage points from the average of the same period in the past five years.

Steel

1. [Steel] On June 17, the average cost of 76 independent electric arc furnace construction steel mills was 3,262 RMB/ton, a daily increase of 2 RMB/ton, an average profit loss of 129 RMB/ton, and a profit loss of 26 RMB/ton for Gudian.

2. [Galvanized sheet] On June 17, 154 galvanized enterprises nationwide traded a total of 15,580 tons, a decrease of 1,060 tons from the previous trading day, a decrease of 6.37%. The region with the largest decrease was East China, which decreased by 540 tons from the previous trading day, a decrease of 9.52%.

3. [Iron ore] On June 17, the national main port iron ore transaction volume was 996,000 tons, a month-on-month increase of 2.4%; 237 mainstream traders traded 92,500 tons of construction steel, a month-on-month decrease of 16.1%.

4. [Iron Ore] From June 9 to June 15, 2025, the total amount of iron ore arriving at 47 ports in China was 25.175 million tons, a decrease of 1.564 million tons from the previous month; the total amount of iron ore arriving at 45 ports in China was 23.845 million tons, a decrease of 2.248 million tons from the previous month; the total amount of iron ore arriving at six ports in the north was 12.190 million tons, a decrease of 1.646 million tons from the previous month.

5. [Iron Ore] From June 9 to June 15, 2025, the total global iron ore shipments were 33.527 million tons, a decrease of 1.577 million tons from the previous month. The total amount of iron ore shipments from Australia and Brazil was 28.421 million tons, a decrease of 773,000 tons from the previous month. Australia's shipments were 20.593 million tons, a decrease of 1.106 million tons from the previous month, of which Australia's shipments to China were 17.971 million tons, a decrease of 949,000 tons from the previous month. Brazil's shipments were 7.828 million tons, an increase of 332,000 tons from the previous month.

6. [Manganese silicon] A steel plant in Jiangxi bid for silicon-manganese alloy at a price of 5,630 RMB/ton, with a quantity of 4,000 tons, and acceptance tax included to the factory.

7. [Manganese silicon] A steel plant in Guangxi bid for silicon-manganese alloy at a price of 5,600 RMB/ton, with a quantity of 13,000 tons, and cash tax included to the factory.

Nonferrous metals

1. [Gold] World Gold Council: More than 90% (95%) of the central banks surveyed believe that global central banks will continue to increase their gold holdings in the next 12 months. This proportion set a record high since the first survey on this issue in 2019, and it also rose by 17 percentage points from the survey results in 2024.

2. [Gold] UBS said it remains optimistic about global stocks, defense and gold, and expects the gold price to reach US$3,500 per ounce by the end of 2025.

3. [Nonferrous metals] On June 17, the London Metal Exchange (LME) nonferrous metal inventory and changes were as follows: Copper inventory was 107,550 tons, up 225 tons from the previous day. Aluminum inventory was 349,100 tons, down 2,100 tons from the previous trading day. Nickel inventory was 204,936 tons, up 1,986 tons from the previous day. Zinc inventory was 128,875 tons, down 1,350 tons from the previous day. Lead inventory was 287,450 tons, up 23,975 tons from the previous day. Tin inventory was 2,260 tons, unchanged from the previous day.

Building materials

1. [Glass] Zhuzhou Liling Qibin Glass Co., Ltd., the third line originally produced white glass, changed to produce emerald green and started feeding on the 13th.

2. [Waste paper] On June 17, Jiangsu Taicang Nine Dragons Paper Co., Ltd. lowered the purchase price of waste paper, and the factory price after adjustment was 1,530 RMB/ton.

Nine Dragons Paper in Quanzhou, Fujian, reduced the purchase price of waste paper by 20 RMB/ton, and the adjusted ex-factory price is 1,540 RMB/ton.

Huayu Paper in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, reduced the purchase price of waste paper by 20 RMB/ton, and the adjusted ex-factory price without invoice is 1,500 RMB/ton.

Agricultural and sideline products

1. [Live pigs] Recently, relevant departments held a live pig production scheduling meeting, which proposed specific live pig production control targets, and will reduce the national breeding sow inventory by about 1 million heads on the existing basis to 39.5 million heads.

2. [Corn] The U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly export inspection report shows that the export inspection volume of U.S. corn last week decreased by 3% from a week ago, but increased by 21% from the same period last year. As of the week of June 12, 2025, the export inspection volume of U.S. corn was 1,673,023 tons, which was a revised 1,728,889 tons last week and 1,380,803 tons in the same period last year.

3. [Soybean meal] EU data showed that as of June 8, the total import volume of soybean meal in the EU in 2024/25 increased by 26% year-on-year, of which imports from Brazil increased by 4%.

4. [Soybean meal] Data released by the Brazilian Foreign Trade Secretariat showed that Brazil's soybean meal exports fell in both volume and price in the first week of June. The soybean meal export volume from June 1 to 6 was 406,000 tons, while the full month of June last year was 2.08 million tons.

If you have any enquiries or purchasing needs, please feel free to contact SunSirs with support@sunsirs.com.