1. According to the World Steel Association, global crude steel production in February 2026 was 141.8 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 2.2%; from January to February 2026, global crude steel production was 298.2 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 1.5%.
Among them, China's steel production in February was 76.09 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 3.6%.
2. According to monitoring by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the slaughter volume of designated pig slaughtering enterprises in February 2026 was 31.77 million heads, a month-on-month decrease of 27.9%, but significantly higher than the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 40.7%. The cumulative slaughter volume from January to February was 75.81 million heads, a year-on-year increase of 21.9%.
3. The National Grain and Oil Information Center: Recently, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture has been actively addressing soybean export quarantine issues and has sent personnel to China for consultations, gradually easing market concerns about imported soybean supply. This week, the operating rate of soybean processing plants has slightly decreased, and soybean meal inventory at the end of the month is expected to decrease slightly to around 550,000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of approximately 100,000 tons.
4. According to data released by shipping surveyor SGS, Malaysia's palm oil exports from March 1-20 are estimated at 889,128 tons, a 61.02% increase compared to 552,196 tons exported in the same period last month.
5. A spokesperson for the European Commission stated on Tuesday that the EU has not yet announced a new timetable for its plan to completely phase out Russian oil, which was previously scheduled to be implemented on April 15.
6. In February, the installed capacity of power batteries for new energy vehicles was 27.3 GWh, a year-on-year decrease of 19.2%. The cumulative year-on-year increase in the power battery market from January to February reached 37.4%. The average battery capacity per new energy vehicle in January and February was 62.0 kWh, a year-on-year increase of 29.2%.
7. Data from the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) shows that the global lead market surplus narrowed to 9,700 tons in January this year, compared to a surplus of 31,600 tons in December last year. The global zinc market shifted from a supply shortage of 75,100 tons in December to a surplus of 9,200 tons in January.
8. India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade announced on Tuesday that it has extended the authorization for tariff quotas on gold imports under the India-Afghanistan trade agreement for the 2025/26 fiscal year until June 30.
