China's CBIRC Continues 20-Month Increase in Gold Reserves; Futures Fees Adjusted for Polysilicon and Lithium

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1. The State Administration for Market Regulation is actively advancing amendments to the Price Law of the People’s Republic of China to provide stronger tools for preventing and stopping operators from engaging in unbridled price cutting and price wars.

2. Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People's Bank of China: Support Hong Kong in launching offshore RMB government bond futures.

3. The People's Bank of China has increased its gold reserves for the 20th consecutive month.

4. Guangzhou Futures Exchange adjusts trading fee standards for polysilicon and lithium carbonate futures contracts.

5. Dalian Commodity Exchange adjusts the daily price limit and trading margin requirements for benzene futures contracts, and revises the handling fee standards for styrene and benzene futures.

6. Source: Saudi Arabia plans to expand its oil pipeline toward the Red Sea, adding 2 million barrels per day of capacity to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

1. The State Administration for Market Regulation will soon organize random inspections for fair competition reviews in 2026, guiding local authorities to ensure “all reviews are conducted” and “every review is rigorous.” Currently, the State Administration for Market Regulation is actively advancing amendments to the People’s Republic of Price Law to provide stronger tools for preventing and stopping operators from engaging in unchecked price cuts and price wars.

2. Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People's Bank of China, stated at the "Hong Kong Fixed Income and Currency Summit and Bond Connect Forum" that he supports Hong Kong in launching offshore RMB government bond futures, and Hong Kong will soon launch five-year RMB government bond futures to facilitate risk management in the offshore market.

3. The World Bank’s latest China Economic Update states that despite challenges from oversupply and weak demand, along with global energy supply shocks, China’s economic growth has remained resilient overall, with an expected growth rate of 4.4% in 2026, unchanged from the forecast in the previous update released in December last year.

4. According to Axios: A U.S. official stated that the strikes carried out against Iran on Tuesday, U.S. time, were four to five times larger in scale and intensity than the previous round of strikes ten days ago.

1. The front-month U.S. crude oil contract closed up 5.32% at $72.20 per barrel; the front-month Brent crude oil contract rose 5.49% to $75.94 per barrel.

2. International precious metals futures generally closed lower; COMEX gold futures fell 1.22% to $4,116.60 per ounce, and COMEX silver futures dropped 3.09% to $60.41 per ounce.

3. Most base metals in London ended lower; LME aluminum rose 0.75% to $3,139.0 per ton, LME lead rose 0.40% to $1,887.5 per ton, LME tin fell 0.12% to $53,000.0 per ton, LME copper fell 0.51% to $13,334.5 per ton, LME zinc fell 0.56% to $3,571.0 per ton, and LME nickel fell 0.90% to $16,275.0 per ton.

4. As of the close at 23:00 on July 7, domestic futures main contracts showed mixed movements. Pure benzene rose nearly 2%, while caustic soda, styrene (EB), low-sulfur fuel oil (LU), and fuel oil all increased over 1.5%. On the downside, asphalt fell nearly 4%, and soda ash dropped over 1%.

1. Due to safety hazards, the Yijinhuoluo Banner Mine Safety Supervision Bureau imposed an administrative penalty on the Yijinhuoluo Banner Haoda Coal Co., Ltd., ordering it to cease production and rectify the issues.

2. According to Mysteel, satellite data shows that between June 29 and July 5, 2026, the total iron ore inventory at seven major ports in Australia and Brazil amounted to 14.394 million tons, an increase of 421,000 tons环比, continuing the trend of inventory accumulation, with current stock levels rising to the highest range of the year.

3. According to Mysteel, Hebei Iron and Steel Group's silicomanganese procurement volume was 15,400 tons in July 2026, 15,400 tons in June 2026, and 14,600 tons in July 2025.

1. Sources say Saudi Arabia is in preliminary discussions with some neighboring countries to expand oil pipeline capacity toward the Red Sea, aiming to add approximately 2 million barrels per day of pipeline capacity that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.

2. Dalian Commodity Exchange announces that, after careful consideration, effective from trading on July 10, 2026 (i.e., during the night session on July 9), the speculative intraday trading fee for styrene will be adjusted from RMB 3 per lot to RMB 1 per lot, and the speculative intraday trading fee for benzene will be adjusted from 0.01% of the transaction amount to RMB 3 per lot. Effective from settlement on July 10, 2026 (Friday), the daily price limit for benzene futures contracts will be adjusted from 7% to 6%, and the margin requirement will be adjusted from 8% to 7%; the daily price limit for benzene futures contracts BZ2608 and BZ2609 will be adjusted from 12% to 8%, and the margin requirement will be adjusted from 14% to 10%.

3. According to Longzhong Information, as of the week ending July 6, the total commercial inventory of benzene at Jiangsu port samples decreased to 59,800 metric tons, a weekly reduction of 14,200 metric tons, approaching a 20% decline. This absolute level represents a year-over-year decrease of 114,200 metric tons compared to 174,000 metric tons in the same period last year, a sharp drop of 65.63%.

1. Guangzhou Futures Exchange announces that, after research, effective from trading on July 9, 2026, the trading fee for multiple polysilicon futures contracts will be adjusted to 0.01% of the transaction amount, while the intraday flat-to-open trading fee will remain at 0.025% of the transaction amount; the trading fee for multiple lithium carbonate futures contracts will be adjusted to 0.016% of the transaction amount, while the intraday flat-to-open trading fee will remain at 0.032% of the transaction amount.

2. According to data from the People's Bank of China, China’s gold reserves as of the end of June amounted to 75.44 million troy ounces (approximately 2,346.446 metric tons), an increase of 480,000 troy ounces (approximately 14.93 metric tons) from the end of May, when gold reserves stood at 74.96 million troy ounces (approximately 2,331.52 metric tons), marking the 20th consecutive month of gold accumulation.

3. Local authoritative media in Nigeria report that the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa has officially commenced operations in Nasarawa State, with a daily processing capacity of 6,000 tons of raw lithium ore. Local media estimate the annual capacity at 3 million tons, equivalent to approximately 30,000 tons of lithium carbonate.

4. China Construction Bank: Fully supporting the launch of the Hong Kong Gold Central Clearing and Settlement System, successfully completing the first batch of physical gold deposits and multiple transactions and settlements.

5. James Abbott, CEO of HSBC Group, stated that HSBC holds 600 tons of gold in London and plans to expand its gold storage capacity in Hong Kong, aiming to increase it to 200 tons within the coming months to support Hong Kong’s target of 2,000 tons of gold storage.

6. Mysteel conducted a comprehensive survey of China's primary aluminum producers, with the preliminary output of primary aluminum in China in June 2026 at 3.7486 million tons, an increase of 2.63% year-over-year and a decrease of 3.12% month-over-month; the average daily output in June was 125,000 tons, a slight increase of 0.02 million tons month-over-month.

7. According to Aladdin (ALD) research and statistics, as of July 5, the inventory of bauxite at major Chinese ports amounted to 37.34 million metric tons, an increase of 1.34 million wet metric tons环比.

8. Market news: BHP has been approved to launch a $15 billion copper mine expansion project in Chile.

Soda ash continues to face a high-supply, high-inventory situation, with weak demand limiting price rebound potential.

Hualian Futures research report indicates that, last week, some production facilities underwent maintenance, leading to a further slight reduction in output. Alkali enterprises saw their sales rates rise above equilibrium, resulting in a modest decline in soda ash inventories. Recently, soda ash production facilities have been operating and idling concurrently, maintaining high but volatile output levels; however, downstream demand has seen only limited improvement, sustaining a pattern of high supply and high inventories. Weak demand has constrained the potential for price rebounds. Last week, no new production lines were ignited or drained, and the utilization rate and daily melting volume remained stable. In some regions, enterprises implemented price-driven sales strategies, contributing to a modest inventory decline. Currently, the glass market continues to exhibit weak supply and demand dynamics, with inventories at elevated levels for this time of year; the weak fundamentals continue to pressure the market. However, short-term cost support is strengthening, and the futures price is expected to remain range-bound at lower levels.

2. Short-term soybean meal prices may follow U.S. soybeans; monitor U.S. soybean sales closely going forward.

The report from CITIC Futures points out that expectations for Sino-U.S. agricultural trade relations have eased, and the expectation for increased U.S. soybean planting has materialized. While temperatures in the main U.S. soybean-producing regions have been higher, leading to a slight decline in crop condition ratings, short-term bullish factors have converged. Although the domestic supply surplus has not changed, the pace of inventory accumulation has slowed. Key future focus areas include U.S. soybean sales, weather-related trading for U.S. soybeans, and the impact of El Niño on agricultural products. In the short term, Dalian soybean meal may follow U.S. soybean trends; investors should remain cautious of risks.

1. On July 9 at 02:00, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its monetary policy meeting.

2. July 9, 09:30, China's June CPI and PPI data.

3. July 10 at 12:30, Malaysia MPOB June palm oil supply and demand report.

4. On July 10 at 16:00, the IEA released its monthly oil market report.

5. On July 10 at 20:30, the U.S. June unadjusted CPI year-over-year and month-over-month rates.