Macroeconomics

1. [US-Canada Trade] Trade negotiations between the US and Canada collapsed on August 22. As Canada failed to reach an agreement by the deadline, the US immediately imposed a 50% tariff on select Canadian goods. Canada responded strongly, announcing reciprocal tariffs on $20 billion worth of US goods effective September 8; Ottawa criticized the US terms as harsh and detrimental to Canadian sovereignty and core industrial interests, marking a sharp escalation in bilateral trade tensions.

2. [US PMI] The preliminary US S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for August came in at 53.2, versus an estimated 53.9 and a previous reading of 53.9.

3. [Eurozone PMI] The preliminary Eurozone Manufacturing PMI for August was 52.8 (expected 51.8; previous 51.9), while the preliminary Services PMI was 51.7 (expected 51.5; previous 51.7).

Chemical

1. [Iron Phosphate] It is reported that the 240,000-ton/year iron phosphate project by Wanhua Chemical (Penglai) Co., Ltd. involves a total investment of 1.5 billion RMB, with 22.41 million RMB allocated for environmental protection. The project entails the construction of a new production facility with an annual capacity of 240,000 tons of iron phosphate.

2. [Lithium Hexafluorophosphate] Tinci Materials announced that its pilot production lines for lithium sulfide and solid-state electrolytes—with capacities in the hundreds-of-tons range—have been completed and are set to enter trial production in the third quarter. Additionally, a technical upgrade project for a 35,000-ton/year lithium hexafluorophosphate production line has been completed, with capacity utilization to be adjusted based on order demand. The company stated that, driven by sustained downstream demand, capacity utilization will remain high as it provides comprehensive material solutions for solid-state batteries.

3. [Lithium Batteries] Construction of Guizhou Depu New Materials' project—featuring an annual capacity of 20,000 tons of lithium-ion battery anode materials—has recently entered a critical phase. With the installation of core production equipment largely complete, the project meets the prerequisites for trial production; full completion is expected by mid-September, with official production commencing in October.

4. [Lithium Batteries] Recently, over a dozen companies across the energy storage supply chain—including EVE Energy, Sinexcel, Inovance Technology, Lingchong New Energy, and Green Energy Huichong—have issued a flurry of price adjustment notices. They announced price hikes ranging from 5% to 30%, affecting various product categories such as cathode materials, battery cells, power conversion systems (PCS), and integrated solar-storage-charging equipment.

5. [Melamine] On August 24, Hualu Hengsheng's ex-factory quote for melamine was 5,700 RMB/ton, down 100 RMB/ton from the previous quote.

6. [Soda Ash] During the week of August 20, the operating rate of soda ash plants stood at 78.31%, up 2.16% from the previous week; production volume was 745,800 tonnes, an increase of 2.83% week-on-week.

7. [Soda Ash] During the week of August 20, domestic soda ash inventory totaled 1.8449 million tonnes, a decrease of 0.64% from the previous week; this comprised 1.0287 million tonnes of light soda ash and 0.8162 million tonnes of dense soda ash. Shipment volume from Chinese soda ash producers was 757,600 tonnes (up 5.51% month-on-month), with a shipment rate of 101.58%.

8. [Caustic Soda] In July 2026, China's liquid caustic soda imports totaled 21.3 tonnes, down 58.1% year-on-year and up 53.5% month-on-month. From January to July, total imports reached 206.0 tonnes, a year-on-year decrease of 11.3%. Exports in July 2026 amounted to 229,789.8 tonnes, down 25.4% year-on-year and up 5.3% month-on-month. Total exports for the January-July period were 2,054,068.9 tonnes, up 1.3% year-on-year.

9. [Toluene] In July 2026, China imported 0.16 tonnes of toluene valued at US$1,900, a month-on-month decrease of 72.71%. Exports for the month totaled 223,664.40 tonnes valued at US$205.4298 million, a month-on-month decrease of 2.21%.

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