SunSirs: Commodity Intelligence Today (June 6, 2025)

Latest Intelligence on Bulk Raw Materials

Macro

1. [Construction Machinery] China Construction Machinery Industry Association: In May, the monthly operation rate of major construction machinery products in my country was 59.5%, a year-on-year decrease of 5.01 percentage points and a month-on-month decrease of 2.45 percentage points. Among them, the monthly operation rate of excavators was 61%.

2. [Automobile] According to preliminary statistics from the Passenger Car Association, in May, the national passenger car market retailed 1.93 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 13% and a month-on-month increase of 10%. The cumulative retail sales so far this year reached 8.802 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 9%; in May, the national passenger car manufacturers wholesaled 2.329 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 14% and a month-on-month increase of 6%. The cumulative wholesale sales so far this year reached 10.797 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 12%.

3. [U.S. Initial Jobless Claims] The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits for the first time last week unexpectedly increased. The number of initial jobless claims in the United States increased by 8,000 to 247,000 in the week ending May 31, higher than the market expectation of 235,000. The four-week average also rose to 235,000, the highest level since October last year.

4. [ECB rate cut] The European Central Bank decided to cut the three key interest rates in the euro area by 25 basis points respectively. This is the eighth time the ECB has cut interest rates since it started cutting interest rates in June last year. After this rate cut, the euro area deposit mechanism rate, main refinancing rate and marginal lending rate fell to 2.00%, 2.15% and 2.40% respectively.

5. [South Korea's foreign exchange reserves] Bank of Korea: As of the end of May, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves were US$404.6 billion, down for the second consecutive month, the lowest level since April 2020. The main reason is the reduction in foreign currency deposits in financial institutions.

Energy

1. [Crude oil] On June 5, international crude oil futures rose. The settlement price of the July contract of US WTI crude oil futures was US$63.37 per barrel, up US$0.52 or 0.8%. The settlement price of the August contract of Brent crude oil futures was $65.34 per barrel, an increase of $0.48 or 0.7%.

2. [Liquefied natural gas] In the week of May 26-June 1, global liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports were 7.8 million tons, down less than 1% from the previous week; supply and export volumes were both about 7.5 million tons, down 3% from the previous week.

3. [Coking coal] This week, the certified capacity utilization rate of 523 coking coal mines was 84.7%, down 0.8% from the previous month. The average daily output of raw coal was 1.899 million tons, down 19,000 tons from the previous month, and the raw coal inventory was 6.708 million tons, up 297,000 tons from the previous month.

4. [Thermal coal] On June 5, the price of thermal coal in the Beigang market was weak and stable. As of June 4, the inventory of the eight ports around Bohai Sea was 27.49 million tons, a daily decrease of 120,000 tons from the previous month.

5. [Petroleum coke] On June 5, Wudi Xinyue Petroleum Coke 4B was quoted at 1,373 RMB/ton, down 30 RMB/ton from the previous trading day, with a sulfur content of about 5.0%, a delayed coking unit of 600,000 tons/year, and a daily output of 400 tons.

Chemicals

1. [Fluorine Chemicals] The Office of the Special Group for New Industrialization of Guizhou Province issued the "Action Plan for High-Quality Development of Fluorine Chemical Industry in Guizhou Province (2025-2027)". This plan is the first official document issued at the provincial level in Guizhou for the fluorine chemical industry, which has far-reaching significance for promoting the optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure and economic development of the province.

2. [Lithium Hydroxide] Recently, China Salt Lake's 40,000 tons/year basic lithium salt integration project officially entered the trial production stage from the engineering construction stage.

3. [Hydrogen Peroxide] It is understood that the hydrogen peroxide unit in the 1.2 million tons of caprolactam-polyamide industry integration project of Guangxi Hengyi New Materials Co., Ltd. officially completed the intermediate handover (intermediate handover) on May 31, 2025. Among them, the hydrogen peroxide unit will have an annual production capacity of 800,000 tons (based on a 35% concentration).

4. [Iron phosphate] Recently, CNNC Titanium Dioxide announced that it plans to terminate the 500,000 tons of iron phosphate project.

5. [TDI] It is understood that the 800,000 tons/year MDI unit and the 360,000 tons/year TDI unit of Wanhua Chemical's Fujian Park were shut down for maintenance on June 5 for about 45 days.

6. [Propylene] It is reported that this week (20250530-20250605) China's propylene production was 1.1258 million tons, down 0.71% from last week.

7. [Caustic soda] As of June 5, the national sample enterprises with a fixed liquid alkali capacity of 200,000 tons or more had a factory inventory of 382,100 tons (wet tons), down 2.67% month-on-month and up 5.52% year-on-year.

8. [Baking soda] As of June 5, the overall operating rate of baking soda during the week was 65.85%, up 2.56% from the previous day.

9. [Diethylene glycol] On June 4, the total shipment of the two warehouses in Zhangjiagang was 688 tons, a decrease of 396 tons from the previous day. As of now, the inventory of the two warehouses is 28,800 tons.

10. [Potassium chloride] The port potassium chloride inventory at the end of May 2025 was about 1.945 million tons, a decrease of 45,000 tons from the end of last month, and a decrease of 439,000 tons from the same period last year (excluding bonded).

11. [Lithium carbonate] In May 2025, the export volume of lithium carbonate in Chile was 14,100 tons, a decrease of 35% from the previous month. Among them, 9,700 tons were exported to China, a decrease of 38% from the previous month.

12. [Aluminum fluoride] On June 5, the ex-factory price of aluminum fluoride of Jiaozuo Minli Industrial Co., Ltd. was 11,800 RMB/ton, down 200 RMB/ton, and the actual order is subject to negotiation.

13. [Ethyl acetate] On June 5, Jiangsu Lianhai Acetic Acid Biotechnology Co., Ltd. operated normally, and the price of ethyl acetate was reduced by 50 RMB/ton. The current ex-warehouse price was 5,300 RMB/ton, and the factory's shipment situation was acceptable.

Rubber and plastic

1. [PC] Lihua Yilijin PC device has two production lines with a total capacity of 130,000 tons/year. The current load is normal, and there is a plan to expand production by 70,000 tons/year.

2. [PE] It is reported that the 300,000-ton full-density device of China Coal Yulin Energy Chemical will be shut down on May 12, 2025, and the expected restart time is mid-to-late June.

3. [Natural rubber] The latest data shows that in the first five months of 2025, Côte d'Ivoire's rubber exports totaled 629,672 tons, an increase of 7.9% from 583,437 tons in the same period of 2024.

Textile

1. [Cotton yarn] According to statistics, as of June 5, the finished product inventory of domestic pure cotton yarn enterprises was 31.14 days, up 0.74% from the previous month.

2. [Polyester yarn] According to statistics, as of June 5, the average operating rate of domestic pure polyester yarn enterprises was 74.04%, down 6.24% from the previous month; the inventory of pure polyester yarn industry was 23.08 days, down 0.88 days from last week.

3. [Raw silk] It is reported that the spring cocoon purchase in Tongzhou District, Nantong City started on June 3 and ended on June 5. The purchase price is 57.6-64 RMB/kg, and the average purchase price is 61.2 RMB/kg, which is 0.7 RMB/kg higher than 60.5 RMB/kg in the same period last year, an increase of 1.2%, the highest purchase price of silkworms in history.

4. [Polyester FDY] Zhejiang Kaishi Polyester Filament quoted price was reduced by 50-100, semi-gloss FDY: 54/240 quoted at 7600, 75/36 quoted at 7300, 100/48 quoted at 7250, 150/36 quoted at 7250, 150/96 quoted at 7250, black silk 75/36 quoted at 8550, black silk 100/36 quoted at 8500.

5. [Polyester staple fiber] On June 5, the price of polyester staple fiber of Zhejiang Hengyi Petrochemical was temporarily stable, among which the semi-matte 1.56*38 cotton staple fiber of Hengyi High-tech, Hengming Chemical Fiber, Suqian Yida, and Fujian Yijin was 6,750 RMB/ton, which was the same as the price of the previous trading day.

6. [Lint cotton] The latest USDA drought report shows that as of the week of June 3, about 6% of the cotton-growing areas in the United States were affected by drought, compared with 7% in the previous week and 6% in the same period last year.

7. [Lint cotton] The agricultural product export data of the Brazilian Ministry of Commerce showed that in the fifth week of May 2025, a total of 21 working days, a total of 192,200 tons of unprocessed cotton were shipped out, compared with 229,400 tons in May last year. The average daily shipping volume was 9,200 tons/day, a decrease of 16.23% from 10,900 tons/day in May last year.

Steel

1. [Steel] On June 4, Jiangsu Hongtai stopped production for maintenance on a 110T electric furnace and a bar production line, which reduced the daily output of threaded steel by 2,500 tons. The specific resumption time is to be determined.

2. [Iron Ore] This week, the total inventory of imported sintered powder of 114 new caliber steel mills was 25.3211 million tons, a decrease of 669,800 tons from the previous period. The average molten iron cost of steel mills excluding tax was 2,335 RMB/ton, a decrease of 29 RMB/ton from the previous period.

3. [Galvanized sheet] On June 5, statistics showed that 154 national galvanized enterprises had a total transaction volume of 16,621 tons, a decrease of 1,027 tons from the previous trading day, a decrease of 5.82%. The area with the largest reduction was Central China, which decreased by 409 tons from the previous trading day, a decrease of 9.01%.

4. [Stainless steel] In May 2025, the total output of stainless steel in China was 3.47 million tons, a slight decrease of 1.04% from the previous month and an increase of 6.34% from the previous year. Among them, the output of 200 series stainless steel was 890,000 tons, a decrease of 4.82% from the previous month, the output of 300 series stainless steel was 1.86 million tons, a slight decrease of 0.05% from the previous month, and the output of 400 series stainless steel was 700,000 tons, an increase of 1.44% from the previous month.

Nonferrous metals

1. [Alumina] According to statistics, as of Thursday this week, the total annual capacity of metallurgical-grade alumina in China was 110.82 million tons/year, and the total annual operating capacity was 87.27 million tons/year. The weekly operating rate of alumina in China rose by 0.54 percentage points from last week to 78.75%, mainly due to the resumption of production of some alumina operating capacity that had been overhauled or reduced in the early stage.

2. [Aluminum] According to statistics, on June 5, the inventory of electrolytic aluminum ingots in the mainstream consumption areas in China was 504,000 tons, a decrease of 15,000 tons from the beginning of this week and a decrease of 7,000 tons from last Thursday.

3. [Aluminum] On June 4, the spot prices of aluminum ingots (AL99.70) of Aluminum Corporation of China in various regions are as follows: the East China market quoted 20,250 RMB/ton, the South China market quoted 20,110 RMB/ton, the Southwest market quoted 20,150 RMB/ton, and the Central Plains market quoted 20,190 RMB/ton; compared with the previous trading day, they fell by 30 RMB/ton, 20 RMB/ton, 20 RMB/ton, and 40 RMB/ton respectively.

Building materials

1. [Paper] It is reported that North American paper giant Georgia-Pacific plans to permanently close its Cedar Springs operating base later this year. The plant has an annual production capacity of 1 million tons of containerboard, including 227,000 tons of neutral paper and 773,000 tons of noodle paper, and is an important paper production facility in North America.

2. [Pulp] Recently, Jianfa Group held a working meeting with the People's Committee of Quang Binh Province, Vietnam, and reached a cooperation intention on investing in the construction of pulp and finished paper production projects. The total planned investment of the project is US$2 billion and will be implemented in three phases.

3. [Pulp] As of June 5, 2025, the sample inventory of pulp in China's mainstream ports was 2.157 million tons, down 0.4 million tons from the previous period, a month-on-month decrease of 0.2%. The inventory showed a slight destocking trend in this cycle.

4. [Waste paper] On June 5, Zhejiang Jiaxing Jingxing Paper Industry raised the purchase price of waste paper by 10 RMB/ton, and the adjusted ex-factory price without invoice was 1,550 RMB/ton.

Zhejiang Pinghu Rongcheng Paper Industry raised the purchase price of waste paper by 20 RMB/ton, and the adjusted ex-factory price without invoice was 1,510 RMB/ton.

Agricultural and sideline products

1. [Sugar] During the 24/25 sugar-making season, Guangxi had a total of 48.5954 million tons of sugarcane for crushing, a decrease of 2.5847 million tons year-on-year; 6.4650 million tons of mixed sugar, an increase of 283,600 tons year-on-year. As of the end of May, Guangxi had sold a total of 4.6453 million tons of sugar, with a production and sales rate of 71.85%.

2. [Sugar] Yunnan Province had a total of 18.0630 million tons of sugarcane for crushing, a total of 2.4188 million tons of sugar, and a sugar production rate of 13.39%, an increase of 0.24% year-on-year. As of May 31, Yunnan Province had sold a total of 1.5558 million tons of sugar, with a sales rate of 64.32%; industrial inventory was 862,900 tons, an increase of 2,500 tons year-on-year.

3. [Soybean] ANEC said on Wednesday that Brazil's soybean exports in June 2025 are estimated to be 12.55 million tons, lower than 14.2 million tons in May and lower than 13.83 million tons in the same period last year.

4. [Corn] Data released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture showed that Ukraine's agricultural exports in May increased from 3.73 million tons in April to 4.04 million tons due to increased exports of corn and wheat. Exports in May included 2 million tons of corn, 849,700 tons of wheat, 461,194 tons of sunflower oil, 344,950 tons of oil meal, 270,368 tons of soybeans and some other commodities.

5. [Palm oil] Data released by shipping survey agency AmSpec Agri showed that Malaysia's palm oil exports in May were 1,230,787 tons, up 13.2% from 1,087,133 tons in April.

6. [Palm oil] According to a Reuters survey, Malaysia's palm oil inventory is expected to be 2.01 million tons in May 2025, up 7.74% from April; production is expected to be 1.74 million tons, up 3% from April; exports are expected to be 1.3 million tons, up 17.9% from April.

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