Morning Reading: Ministry of Commerce Counterattacks Mexico's China-Related Measures; Supply and Demand Both Rise for Five Major Steel Products

　　◎ The Mexican government plans to raise import tariff rates on products from non-free trade partner countries, including China. These measures specifically target product categories such as automobiles and auto parts, textiles, apparel, plastics, steel, home appliances, aluminum, and glass. In response, the Ministry of Commerce has decided to launch a trade and investment barriers investigation into Mexico's relevant restrictions affecting China.

　　◎ This week, supply of the five major steel varieties reached 8.6493 million tons, an increase of 94,700 tons from the previous week, representing a growth rate of 1.1%. Total inventory stood at 15.1061 million tons, down 91,300 tons week-on-week, marking a decline of 0.6%. Meanwhile, apparent consumption totaled 8.7406 million tons, up 2.8% compared to the prior week.

　　◎ Yunnan's steel companies take a substantive step toward "countering involution." Five leading steel enterprises have secured the allocation of 600,000 tons of resources within the province, marking the entry of production control, price stabilization, and collaborative management into the practical implementation phase—and have reached several key resolutions. More details to follow.

　　◎ On September 25, mainstream coking companies raised prices for fixed-coke by 50–55 yuan/ton and top-charged coke by 80–85 yuan/ton.

　　◎ Chinese Premier Li Qiang held a symposium with U.S. friendly groups in New York. Li Qiang emphasized that China and the U.S. should respect each other, coexist peacefully, and pursue win-win cooperation. Economic and trade relations are a vital component; given the significant differences in market structures and the strong complementarity of industrial sectors between the two countries, enhancing bilateral economic and trade collaboration will benefit both nations—and ultimately contribute to global prosperity.

　　◎ Small and medium-sized banks have been intensively cutting deposit rates. On September 25, Henan Luoyang Rural Commercial Bank, Luoning Rural Commercial Bank, and several other banks announced reductions in RMB deposit rates, affecting products such as demand deposits, notice deposits, and fixed-term deposits of various maturities— with the largest cut reaching up to 35 basis points (BP).

　　◎ On September 24, the launch event for the digital RMB International Operations Center's business platform was held in Shanghai, marking the official commencement of operations for the center.

　　◎ U.S. initial jobless claims last week came in at 218,000, compared to an estimated 233,000 and the previous figure of 231,000.

　　◎ The U.S. second-quarter GDP final reading showed an annualized quarter-over-quarter growth of 3.8%, a significant upward revision from the revised figure of 3.3%, marking the fastest pace in nearly two years.

　　◎ On September 25, national major port iron ore transactions totaled 1.111 million tons, down 28.3% from the previous day; meanwhile, mainstream traders reported building steel sales of 108,200 tons, an increase of 4.1% compared to the prior day.

　　◎ This week, Tangshan's major warehouses and ports reported a comparable steel billet inventory of 1.2655 million tons, an increase of 4,600 tons from the previous week. During the survey period, most downstream rolling mills reduced production due to environmental regulations, leading to weaker demand for billets.

　　◎ This week, 114 steel plants with the new pricing mechanism reported total imports of sintered ore amounting to 32.2222 million tons, an increase of 1.0237 million tons compared to the previous period. Meanwhile, the average ironmaking cost at steel plants—excluding taxes—rose by 2 yuan/ton to 2,325 yuan/ton, up slightly from the prior period.

　　◎ This week, the capacity utilization rate of the 523 sampled coking coal mines was 86.5%, an increase of 1.8% from the previous week. Daily raw coal production averaged 1.94 million tons, up by 41,000 tons compared to the prior week, while raw coal inventory stood at 4.587 million tons, down by 113,000 tons from the previous week.

　　◎ This week, the average loss for independent coking plants across the country stood at 34 yuan per ton of coke; meanwhile, Shanxi's quasi-first-grade coke averaged a loss of 24 yuan per ton, while Shandong's quasi-first-grade coke posted an average profit of 20 yuan per ton.

　　◎ On September 25, the average cost for 76 independent electric arc furnace construction steel plants was 3,332 yuan/ton, down 1 yuan/ton from the previous day. Meanwhile, the average profit margin remained at a loss of 128 yuan/ton, with valley electricity profits slipping into a loss of 31 yuan/ton.

　　◎ Sichuan Desheng completed the maintenance of its No. 2 rolling mill's bar production line on September 24 and is gradually resuming normal operations, increasing daily output of construction steel by 4,000 tons.

　　◎ Pingmei Share Co., Ltd. announced that it has received notification from its controlling shareholder, China Pingmei Shenma Holding Group Co., Ltd., stating that the Henan Provincial Party Committee and the provincial government have decided to implement a strategic restructuring of Henan Energy Group Co., Ltd. and China Pingmei Shenma Holding Group Co., Ltd.

　　◎ Gansu Energy & Chemical announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Yao Coal Company, plans to invest in and implement the No. 3 Mine Reconstruction Project, which is designed for an annual production capacity of 1.80 million tons. The total construction cost of the project is estimated at 1.329 billion yuan.

　　◎ Nippon Steel announced on September 25 that it will invest approximately $300 million in two U.S. Steel plants, as part of Nippon Steel's promised $11 billion investment in U.S. Steel.

　　◎ The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association attaches great importance to the "involution-style" competition in copper smelting and has already submitted relevant materials to the pertinent national authorities, proposing specific measures to strictly control the expansion of copper-smelting capacity. Currently, the relevant departments are accelerating their efforts to study and implement concrete measures aimed at strengthening the standardized management of copper-smelting capacity development.

　　◎ The Daqing Gulong Continental Shale Oil National Demonstration Zone has added 158 million tons of proven shale oil reserves.

　　◎ Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak stated that Russia plans to impose a diesel export ban on resellers until the end of the year, and will extend the export ban—excluding supplies under intergovernmental agreements—to gasoline resellers and producers through the year-end.

　　◎ According to monitoring data from the China Index Academy, total bond financing in the real estate sector reached 55.31 billion yuan in August, a year-on-year decrease of 4.3%. Most of the property developers issuing bonds were central and state-owned enterprises. In the first eight months, real estate companies raised a total of 380.89 billion yuan through bond financing, representing a slight year-on-year increase of 0.8%.

　　◎ On September 25, local time, U.S. President Trump posted on his social media platform "Truth Social," announcing that a 25% tariff will be imposed on all imported heavy-duty trucks starting October 1.

　　◎ Xiaomi Auto plans to dynamically optimize vehicle delivery cycles, significantly reducing the time from order placement to vehicle pickup. Some models are expected to arrive as early as 6 weeks ahead of the original schedule, with certain models potentially delivering up to 2 months earlier than initially anticipated.