More construction material steel plants have resumed production, and inspection teams will gradually begin operations in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

◎ The Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced that, with the approval of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the fifth batch of the third round of central ecological and environmental inspections has been fully launched. Routine inspections will be conducted one after another in three provinces/cities—Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei—as well as several central enterprises including Ansteel Group Co., Ltd., China Baowu Steel Group Co., Ltd., and China National Coal Group Co., Ltd. Each inspection team will stay on-site for one month.

◎ Last week, steel construction enterprises resumed production in greater numbers, leading to a slight decline in overall output. Specifically, steel plants in 17 provinces carried out either production line maintenance or resumption of operations. Based on daily average rolling mill output calculations, maintenance activities reduced production by 293,200 tons—marking a significant month-on-month drop. It is expected that this week, maintenance activities will impact production by approximately 264,700 tons.

◎ Multiple areas in Henan and Hebei provinces have lifted their emergency responses for severe pollution weather. On November 16, Handan, Cangzhou, Shijiazhuang, Langfang, Baoding, and Dingzhou successively ended their emergency measures for heavy pollution. On the same day, Zhengzhou, Xuchang, Kaifeng, Jiaozuo, and Luoyang in Henan province also lifted their emergency responses for severe air pollution.

◎ At the invitation of Speaker Brownlee of New Zealand's Parliament, Senator Lyons of Australia's Federal Parliament, and Speaker Dick of the Australian House of Representatives, Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, will pay an official friendly visit to New Zealand and Australia from November 19 to 25.

◎ This week, the central bank’s open market operations will see 1.122 trillion yuan of reverse repos mature, with maturities of 119.9 billion yuan, 403.8 billion yuan, 195.5 billion yuan, 190 billion yuan, and 212.8 billion yuan scheduled from Monday to Friday, respectively.

◎ The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in Japan solemnly urge Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan in the near term. Major airlines have already introduced refund and rebooking policies, and travel agencies are now adjusting their tour packages accordingly.

◎ Li HaiChao, Director of the National Health Commission, introduced that since the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China has been continuously improving its fertility policy framework and incentive mechanisms. Starting in September 2025, families can begin applying for childcare subsidies. To date, more than 31.7 million application records have been submitted nationwide, and local areas have already begun distributing these subsidies gradually as of mid-month.

◎ On November 15, local time, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the anti-government rebel group "M23 Movement" signed a comprehensive peace framework agreement in Doha, the capital of Qatar, aiming to end the conflict in eastern DRC.

◎ On November 14, national major port iron ore transactions totaled 1.021 million tons, down 2.8% from the previous day; meanwhile, mainstream traders reported building steel sales of 104,100 tons, a 1.9% decrease compared to the prior day.

◎ Last weekend, the ex-factory price of Tangshan Qian'an Pufang billet resources remained stable at 2,950 yuan per ton, inclusive of tax.

◎ Last week, the total inventory of imported iron ore at 47 ports nationwide reached 158.1284 million tons, an increase of 1.8871 million tons from the previous week. Meanwhile, the total inventory of imported iron ore at 45 ports across the country stood at 151.2971 million tons, up 2.3088 million tons compared to the prior week.

◎ Last week, the total inventory of imported iron ore at steel plants nationwide stood at 90.7601 million tons, an increase of 660,700 tons from the previous week.

◎ Last week, imported coking coal inventories at 16 ports nationwide stood at 4.882 million tons, a decrease of 391,800 tons; meanwhile, coking coal inventories at 18 ports across the country totaled 2.595 million tons, down by 30,100 tons.

◎ Last week, the blast furnace ironmaking capacity utilization rate at 247 steel plants was 88.8%, an increase of 0.99 percentage points from the previous week; steel plant profitability stood at 38.96%, down 0.87 percentage points week-on-week; and the average daily molten iron output reached 2.3688 million tons, up 26,600 tons compared to the prior week.

◎ Last week, the average capacity utilization rate at 90 independent electric arc furnace steel plants nationwide was 53.18%, up 2.31 percentage points from the previous week but down 0.85 percentage points year-on-year.

◎ Wu Xiaodi, the newly appointed president of the China Special Steel Enterprises Association and also the Party Secretary and Chairman of Taiyuan Iron & Steel Group, stated that the special steel market has been plagued by issues such as low-price dumping and uneven product quality, leading to disorderly competition. This not only harms corporate interests but also undermines the industry's overall image and reputation. In response, the Special Steel Association will further strengthen industry self-discipline.

◎ China National Electric Investment Group is accelerating the integration of resources from its Inner Mongolia coal-power assets. E-Tou Energy plans to acquire Baiyinhua Coal Power for a consideration of 10 billion yuan. Once this acquisition is completed, the company's annual coal production capacity is expected to increase to over 60 million tons, further strengthening its integrated coal-power-aluminum industrial chain.

◎ Li Liangbin, Chairman of Ganfeng Lithium, predicts that lithium carbonate demand will grow by 30% in 2026, reaching 1.9 million tons. Meanwhile, after evaluation, supply capacity is expected to increase by approximately 250,000 tons, bringing supply and demand into near balance. As a result, lithium carbonate prices are likely to have room for upward adjustment.

◎ U.S. President Trump signed the latest executive order on November 14 local time, further adjusting the scope of "reciprocal tariffs" by excluding certain agricultural products from the additional tariffs previously imposed under the "Reciprocal Tariffs Executive Order."

◎ Data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development shows that from January to October, the nationwide area of second-hand home transactions registered online increased by 4.7% year-on-year, with second-hand homes accounting for 45% of total transaction volume. In more than ten cities—including Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Nanjing, Changzhou, and Dongguan—online registration areas for second-hand home transactions grew by over 10% compared to the same period last year.

◎ From November to December, Jiangsu is stepping up its auto renewal and consumption promotion campaign, with subsidies significantly increased across the board. Specifically, for new vehicles with a tax-inclusive invoice price of 400,000 yuan or more, the subsidy has been raised from 8,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan.

21:30 Canada's October CPI monthly rate;

21:30 U.S. November New York Fed Manufacturing Index;

23:00 U.S. August Construction Spending Monthly Rate.

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