1. According to Mysteel, as of the week ending May 7th, rebar production and apparent demand declined for the second consecutive week, while mill inventories reversed their decline and increased, and social inventories declined for the eighth consecutive week. Rebar production was 1.9665 million tons, a decrease of 102,700 tons from the previous week, a drop of 4.96%; apparent demand was 1.9781 million tons, a decrease of 473,400 tons from the previous week, a drop of 19.31%.
2. According to market sources, the new settlement plan for South32 mines starting in June has been finalized, to be uniformly implemented in Tianjin and Qinzhou. The existing framework for wet tons and moisture content will be retained, while manganese will be based on the port of shipment. To protect the rights of both parties, if the discrepancy between the port of shipment and customs manganese exceeds 1.5% (an abnormal situation), either party can request arbitration and re-inspection within 14 days of the customs report being issued. The arbitration will involve sampling at the port of shipment (only representative samples, as customs cannot arrange this), allowing designated three parties (BV, SGS, AHK) to conduct re-testing within China (Australian samples shipped to Perth, South African samples to Johannesburg). The arbitration re-test will determine the final manganese content.
3. This week, Mysteel's Coal and Coke Division surveyed the profit per ton of coke at 30 independent coking plants nationwide. The national average profit per ton of coke was 58 yuan/ton; the average profit for near-grade 1 coke in Shanxi was 94 yuan/ton, in Shandong it was 84 yuan/ton, in Inner Mongolia it was 40 yuan/ton, and in Hebei it was 105 yuan/ton.
4. Mysteel's agricultural product monitoring data shows that in May, the planned hog slaughter volume of key provincial breeding enterprises was 14.6913 million heads, a decrease of 3.53% compared to the actual slaughter volume in April. Planned slaughter volumes generally decreased across various regions, with a significant decrease in Zhejiang, down 29% month-on-month.
5. According to the National Grain and Oil Information Center, imported soybeans will arrive in large quantities in May, leading to an expected increase in oil mill operating rates. Total soybean crushing volume is projected to increase by approximately 1.6 million tons month-on-month, resulting in increased soybean meal production. Soybean meal inventory at the end of the month is expected to rise to around 600,000 tons, an increase of approximately 200,000 tons month-on-month and 300,000 tons year-on-year.
6. The Brazilian National Grain Exporters Association (ANEC) predicts that Brazil's soybean exports in May will reach 14.53 million tons, compared to 14.18 million tons in the same period last year. Brazil's soybean meal exports in May are expected to reach 2.56 million tons, compared to 2.12 million tons in the same period last year.
7. According to Longzhong Information, due to the holiday season, shipments from glass manufacturers have slowed, leading to a significant increase in inventory. As of May 7th, the total inventory of sample float glass enterprises nationwide reached 78.271 million weight boxes, an increase of 2.19 million weight boxes or 2.88% month-on-month, reaching a new high since March, and an increase of 15.85% year-on-year. The inventory days increased by 1.1 days to 35.7 days, with inventory increasing across all regions.
8. As of May 7, 2026, the total inventory of soda ash manufacturers in China this week was 1.8564 million tons, an increase of 47,600 tons from last Thursday, a rise of 2.63%. Among them, light soda ash was 954,100 tons, an increase of 42,900 tons week-on-week; dense soda ash was 902,300 tons, an increase of 4,700 tons week-on-week.
9. According to an announcement by the Guangzhou Futures Exchange on May 7, based on the relevant provisions of the "Guangzhou Futures Exchange Delivery Management Measures" and the "Guangzhou Futures Exchange Futures Registration Brand Management Regulations (Trial)," it has been decided to suspend the registration qualification of the "Daquan" brand polysilicon futures brand. The above matters are effective immediately.
10. Albemarle CEO Kent Masters stated that global lithium consumption has increased by 37% this year, with energy security and grid resilience being one of the biggest drivers of global lithium demand. Battery customers' order books are full until early 2027, and lithium demand is expected to remain resilient during the Middle East conflict. He does not believe that the recent rise in lithium prices will lead to a significant supply response.
