Houthi announces maritime ban on Saudi Arabia; U.S. soybean quality exceeds expectations

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1. The People's Bank of China maintained the one-year and five-year loan prime rates (LPR) at 3% and 3.5% respectively, marking the 14th consecutive month of no change.

2. According to Xinhua News, on the 20th, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei said at a press conference that Iran has received proposals from the United States and the negotiating mediators, but specific details cannot be disclosed at this time.

3. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced that the country's B50 palm oil-based biodiesel policy has been successful, and Indonesia will completely halt diesel imports starting July 2026.

4. The Malaysian Meteorological Department stated that, as the El Niño event intensifies, Malaysia is expected to experience record-high temperatures next year.

5. The Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange has issued an announcement seeking public comments on the revision of the "Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange Futures Settlement Management Measures".

6. On July 20 local time, the Houthi movement in Yemen issued an official statement announcing a maritime navigation ban against Saudi Arabia in response to what it called Saudi Arabia's "unjust and brutal blockade and aggression."

7. White House: Trump takes further measures to adjust U.S. aluminum import policy.

8. According to the USDA's weekly crop progress report, as of the week ending July 19, 2026, the U.S. soybean good-to-excellent rating was 66%, above the market expectation of 64%.

1. The People's Bank of China maintained the one-year and five-year loan prime rates (LPR) at 3% and 3.5% respectively, marking the 14th consecutive month of no change.

2. Xie Cun, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and director of the Department of Information and Communication Development, stated that guidelines for building a computing power standard system will be issued to promote the establishment of standards for evaluating computing power service capabilities and market-based pricing of computing power.

3. According to data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, as of July 20, 2026, the Shanghai Export Containerized Freight Rate Index (Europe Route) stood at 3,854.82 points, up 5.4% compared to the previous period.

4. According to Xinhua News, on the 20th, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei said at a press conference that Iran has received proposals from the United States and the negotiating mediators, but specific details cannot be disclosed at this time.

5. The Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange has issued an announcement seeking public comments on the revision of the "Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange Futures Settlement Management Measures".

6. Senior Iranian sources say mediators have proposed a 10-day pause in hostilities to explore ways to revive the interim agreement between Iran and the United States.

7. On July 20 local time, the Houthi movement in Yemen issued an official statement announcing a maritime navigation ban against Saudi Arabia in response to what it called Saudi Arabia's "unjust and brutal blockade and aggression."

8. On July 20 local time, the White House announced that the United States will impose an additional 50% ad valorem tariff on certain Canadian products. The new tariffs will take effect at 00:01 Eastern Daylight Time on August 19 and will be levied on top of existing applicable tariffs, taxes, and other charges.

9. U.S. Central Command: At 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, U.S. forces launched a new strike against Iran. This operation aims to further degrade Iran’s military capabilities used to target commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

10. U.S. Central Command: As of July 20, U.S. forces have forced seven commercial vessels to change course and disabled one commercial vessel to prevent ships from entering or exiting Iranian ports.

As of the 23:00 close, the majority of domestic futures main contracts declined, with low-sulfur fuel oil (LU) down nearly 3%, coal, paraxylene, PTA, and coke down over 2%, bottle resin down nearly 2%, and short fiber and fuel oil down over 1%. On the upside, soybean meal, rapeseed meal, and soybean No. 2 rose over 1%.

2. International precious metals futures closed mixed: COMEX gold futures fell 0.17% to $4,011.80 per ounce, while COMEX silver futures rose 0.60% to $56.66 per ounce.

3. The front-month U.S. crude oil contract closed up 0.78% at $82.42 per barrel; the front-month Brent crude oil contract rose 0.81% to $88.81 per barrel.

4. Most base metals in London ended lower; LME copper rose 0.88% to $13,644.5 per ton, LME tin rose 0.11% to $53,290.0 per ton, LME zinc fell 0.30% to $3,515.0 per ton, LME nickel fell 0.30% to $16,910.0 per ton, LME lead fell 0.32% to $1,877.0 per ton, and LME aluminum fell 0.46% to $3,136.0 per ton.

1. According to Mysteel, the total global iron ore shipment for the week of July 13–19, 2026, was 33.004 million tons, an increase of 4.103 million tons week-over-week. The combined shipment from Australia and Brazil amounted to 26.859 million tons, up 4.356 million tons week-over-week.

2. According to Mysteel, on July 20, state-owned coal mines in the Yulin region operated normally, while some mines were shut down for maintenance over the weekend. Coal prices at the source primarily rose by 10-20 yuan per ton, with coal mine inventories at low levels. Meanwhile, coal dealers reported strong sales, with inventories at medium levels.

3. According to Mysteel, from July 13 to July 19, 2026, the total iron ore arrivals at China’s 47 ports amounted to 28.887 million tons, an increase of 5.11 million tons环比; the total iron ore arrivals at China’s 45 ports amounted to 27.009 million tons, an increase of 3.655 million tons环比; and the total iron ore arrivals at the six northern ports amounted to 12.88 million tons, a decrease of 3.054 million tons环比.

4. According to Mysteel, major steel mills in Tangshan plan to reduce prices by CNY 50/ton for wet-quenched coke and CNY 55/ton for dry-quenched coke; some steel mills in Xingtai region will also reduce prices by CNY 50/ton for wet-quenched coke and CNY 55/ton for dry-quenched coke, effective from 00:00 on July 22, 2026.

5. The China Coal Distribution Association released a biweekly report on the coal market. In early July, coal supply overall contracted due to stricter safety regulations, mine maintenance, and rainfall in production areas; the biweekly output and sales of key monitored coal enterprises both declined.

6. According to data released by Brazil’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Services, during the third week of July 2026, spanning 13 working days, Brazil exported a total of 20.385 million tons of iron ore, compared to 40.8198 million tons in July last year; the daily average export volume was 1.5681 million tons per day, a 11.65% decrease from 1.7748 million tons per day in July last year.

1. According to Longzhong Information, as of July 20, 2026, the total port inventory of styrene in Jiangsu was 91,800 metric tons, a decrease of 1,000 metric tons from the same period last week, or -1.08%.

2. According to MuLian's survey, for the week of July 20–26, 2026, 11 vessels carrying New Zealand softwood logs are expected to arrive in Hong Kong, a decrease of 1 vessel compared to last week, representing an 8% week-over-week decline; the total volume arriving is approximately 387,000 cubic meters, a reduction of 15,000 cubic meters compared to last week, representing a 4% week-over-week decline.

3. According to a document, Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) is seeking to procure diesel for delivery from August to September through a spot tender, the first such purchase since January 2025.

4. According to Longzhong Information, as of July 20, 2026, the total inventory of soda ash manufacturers in China reached 1.7723 million tons, an increase of 17,900 tons from last Thursday, up 1.02%.

1. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China’s spodumene imports in June 2026 amounted to 7.684 million metric tons, an increase of 12.9% month-over-month. From January to June 2026, China’s spodumene imports totaled 44.34 million metric tons, up 26.9% year-over-year.

2. Australian mining giant South32 reported on Monday a decline in copper production for the fourth quarter due to ongoing disruptions from adverse weather at its Sierra Gorda project in Chile, missing market expectations.

3. According to customs data, China imported 25,861 tons of lithium carbonate in June, a 31% decrease month-over-month and a 46% increase year-over-year. From January to June, China’s cumulative lithium carbonate imports reached 1.79 million tons, up 52% year-over-year.

4. From July 13 to July 19, 2026, a total of 850,000 metric tons of Australian lithium concentrate were shipped to China by Mysteel, an increase of 170,000 metric tons week-over-week, with a weekly average shipment volume of 698,000 metric tons to China.

5. International Aluminium Institute (IAI): Global primary aluminum production in June 2026 was 5.98 million tons, compared to 6.069 million tons in the same period last year. China's primary aluminum production for June is estimated at 3.712 million tons, revised down from 3.835 million tons in the previous month.

6. According to the latest data from China Customs, China’s total nickel sulfate imports in June 2026 reached 6,560 metric tons, up 57% month-over-month and 125% year-over-year. China’s cumulative lithium hexafluorophosphate exports totaled approximately 1,104.4 metric tons, down about 26.4% month-over-month, while cumulative imports totaled approximately 24.4 metric tons.

7. White House: Trump takes further measures to adjust U.S. aluminum import policy.

1. The trajectory of U.S.-Iran relations remains the core variable determining the direction of oil price fluctuations.

According to Hengyin Futures research report, in the short term, the trajectory of the U.S.-Iran situation remains the core variable determining the direction of oil price volatility. If the conflict continues to escalate and impacts physical transportation through the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices are likely to remain elevated with strong sideways oscillations; fuel oil, asphalt, and other energy chemical products will simultaneously benefit from cost-side support, with implied volatility expected to stay high. However, investors must remain cautious of the risk of a price correction if diplomatic channels are reopened or tensions ease, leading to a rapid unwinding of geopolitical premiums. In the medium term, attention should focus on the seasonal weakening of global demand and OPEC production policy developments, as the interplay between supply-demand fundamentals and geopolitical factors will determine the oil price center of gravity over the coming months.

2. The supply-demand balance for lithium carbonate remains largely unchanged, and market speculation on the financial side remains intense.

According to Foshan Jinke Futures, the main contract for lithium carbonate fell 5.61% to RMB 143,900 per ton, with a weighted contract volume of 619,800 lots and an increase in open interest of 15,977 lots on the day. The SMM battery-grade lithium carbonate average price stood at RMB 151,061 per ton, down RMB 385 per ton week-over-week. Macroeconomic uncertainties continue to weigh on risk assets, while supply expectations for lithium ore remain actively traded. This is compounded by accelerated weekly inventory drawdowns in the industry, temporary production cuts and maintenance at some lithium salt producers, and sustained high production levels in new energy vehicles—all of which support a tight supply-demand balance for lithium carbonate. Strong growth in energy storage demand offsets the slowdown in electric vehicle demand, and overall new energy demand has improved week-over-week. Industry-wide inventories continue to decline. Market attention remains on the third-quarter EV consumption peak, as well as the resumption of production at Jianxiawo and the arrival of lithium ore shipments from Zimbabwe and Australia. Overall, the current tight supply-demand balance shows little change; supply is expected to marginally contract in July while demand rises slightly month-over-month. Market sentiment remains highly speculative on the funding side, and in the absence of new catalysts in the short term, prices are expected to remain range-bound.

1. Soybean oil port inventories in China as of July 21;

2. Weekly change in ADP employment numbers for the week ending July 4 in the United States;

3. Wheat Quality Council Hard Red Spring Wheat and Durum Wheat Crop Tour (July 20–23).