Macroeconomics

1. [PPI] National Bureau of Statistics: In July 2026, the national producer price index (PPI) for manufactured goods rose by 3.5% year-on-year and fell by 0.7% month-on-month. Producer purchase prices rose by 5.5% year-on-year and fell by 1.0% month-on-month. For the January–July period, producer prices for manufactured goods rose by 1.8% year-on-year, while producer purchase prices rose by 2.8%.

2. [CPI] National Bureau of Statistics: In July 2026, the national consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.5% year-on-year; for the January–July period, the national CPI rose by 0.9% year-on-year. In July, the national CPI fell by 0.1% month-on-month.

3. [Import & Export] Customs data shows that in the first seven months of 2026, China's foreign trade in goods maintained a strong growth momentum, with the total value reaching 30.13 trillion RMB—a year-on-year increase of 17.3%. Of this total, exports amounted to 17.44 trillion RMB (up 14%) and imports to 12.69 trillion RMB (up 22%); the growth rate of imports continued to outpace that of exports.

4. [Excavators] According to the latest statistics from the China Construction Machinery Industry Association, 19,521 excavators of various types were sold in July 2026, a year-on-year increase of 13.9%. Domestic sales totaled 7,608 units (including 41 electric excavators), up 4.13% year-on-year, while exports reached 11,913 units (including 62 electric excavators), up 21.2%. Cumulative sales for the January–July period totaled 171,841 units, a year-on-year rise of 24.8%; domestic sales reached 86,633 units (up 18.8%), and exports totaled 85,208 units (up 31.7%).

5. [US Non-Farm Payrolls] Data shows that US non-farm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, whereas the market had anticipated an increase of approximately 80,000. Employment figures for the preceding two months were also significantly revised downward: the gain for May was adjusted from 129,000 to 63,000, and the gain for June was adjusted from 57,000 to 20,000—representing a combined downward revision of 103,000 jobs over the two-month period.

Chemicals

1. [Phosphate Rock] News from August 6: To boost its self-sufficiency in phosphate resources, Xingfa Group plans to raise up to 3 billion RMB through a private placement of shares; the funds will be used for projects such as the Qiaogou phosphate mine development (with an annual mining capacity of 2.8 million tonnes).

2. [Soda Ash] For the week of August 6, the operating rate of soda ash production facilities stood at 78.37%, down 2.32% from the previous week; soda ash output was 746,400 tonnes, a decrease of 2.87% week-on-week.

3. [Soda Ash] For the week of August 6, domestic soda ash inventories totaled 1.8495 million tonnes, up 2.71% from the previous week; this comprised 1.0586 million tonnes of light soda ash and 790,900 tonnes of dense soda ash. Shipments by Chinese soda ash producers amounted to 697,600 tonnes, down 6.87% week-on-week, with a shipment rate of 93.46%.

4. [Fluorite] On August 10, the fluorite market in the Jiangxi region saw price increases; mainstream ex-factory prices (tax-inclusive) for 97% grade wet fluorite powder are currently quoted at 3,550–3,600 RMB/ton.

5. [Lithium Carbonate] Sichuan Guocheng Lithium Industry Co., Ltd. has signed a long-term cooperation agreement for lithium carbonate with Jike Supply Chain Management (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. The agreement stipulates the supply of battery-grade lithium carbonate from August 2026 to July 2036, with pricing based on the monthly average price from the Guangzhou Futures Exchange, incorporating a tiered discount structure.

6. [Lithium Carbonate] Argentina's lithium carbonate production reached 11,987.1 tonnes in June, a year-on-year increase of 59.1%. Cumulative production for the first half of the year rose by 49.4% year-on-year, while the export value of lithium minerals surged by 185% over the same period.

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