Multiple regions have activated emergency responses for severe pollution, and the scale of maintenance at steel mills has expanded.

◎ Premier Li Qiang of the State Council presided over an executive meeting of the State Council to study further measures for energy conservation and carbon reduction. The meeting pointed out that it is essential to genuinely enhance the intrinsic motivation for energy conservation and carbon reduction, fully leverage the effectiveness of policies, continuously improve market mechanisms, effectively mobilize the enthusiasm of the entire society, and accelerate the establishment of green production and lifestyle patterns.

◎ Last week, steel mills in 15 provinces carried out maintenance and resumption of production on their production lines. Among them, 25 production lines underwent maintenance, an increase of 14 compared to the previous week; 2 production lines resumed operations, a decrease of 4 from the previous week. The maintenance activities affected a total output of 337,800 tons, up by 52,500 tons from the previous week. This week, the impact of production line maintenance on output is expected to reach 443,000 tons. Details>>

◎ Multiple regions have activated emergency responses for severe pollution weather. Starting at 5 p.m. on December 7, Luoyang has activated an orange-level (Level II) alert for severe pollution weather. At 8 p.m. on December 7, Changsha activated Level III measures for severe pollution weather. Cangzhou, Handan, Xingtai, and Xi'an activated Level II emergency responses for severe pollution weather at 12 p.m. on December 8.

◎ From December 1 to 5, 2025, the national average price of rebar was 3,326 yuan per ton, up 1.06% from the previous week. On the supply side, weekly rebar production reached 1.8931 million tons, down 8.14% from the previous week; inventory stood at 5.0381 million tons, down 5.21% from the previous week. On the demand side, consumption totaled 2.1698 million tons, down 4.81% from the previous week.

On the evening of December 5, He Lifeng, China’s lead negotiator for China-U.S. economic and trade affairs and Vice Premier of the State Council, held a video call with his U.S. counterpart, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Trade Representative Katherine Tai. Both sides positively assessed the implementation of the outcomes of the China-U.S. Kuala Lumpur economic and trade consultations, and expressed their commitment to continuing to leverage the role of the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism under the strategic guidance of the two countries’ heads of state, constantly expanding the list of areas of cooperation while narrowing the list of outstanding issues, thereby promoting the sustained stability and positive development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations.

◎ Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao stated that they will promote consumption of durable goods, advance pilot reforms in the automotive circulation and consumption sectors, expand automobile consumption across the entire value chain, and boost consumption for upgrading household appliances. They will also foster and expand consumption of upgrade-oriented products, unlocking the potential for green and smart consumption.

◎ According to data from the central bank, foreign exchange reserves stood at US$3,346.372 billion as of the end of November. China’s gold reserves as of the end of November totaled 74.12 million ounces, an increase of 30,000 ounces from the previous month, marking the 13th consecutive month of gold accumulation.

◎ According to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, the global manufacturing PMI in November 2025 was 49.6%, a slight decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous month. It has remained within the 49%–50% range for nine consecutive months.

◎ The “Regulations on Promoting the Private Economy in Fujian Province” have been promulgated. The Regulations stipulate that private economic organizations will be supported in revitalizing their existing assets through means such as property rights trading and mergers and acquisitions. Private economic organizations are encouraged and supported to participate—in accordance with the law—in the restructuring and reorganization of state-owned enterprises, joint ventures, and mixed-ownership reforms by means including equity investment, acquisition of equity stakes, subscription of convertible bonds, and equity swaps.

◎ On December 5, the nationwide spot transactions of iron ore at major ports totaled 864,000 tons, down 31.8% from the previous month. Transactions of construction steel by 237 leading traders amounted to 88,200 tons, a decrease of 6.1% from the previous month.

◎ Last weekend, the ex-factory price of PuFang billets in Qian'an, Tangshan, was reduced by 20 yuan/ton, including tax, to 2,970 yuan/ton.

◎ Last week, the total inventory of imported iron ore at steel mills nationwide reached 89.8473 million tons, an increase of 4.225 million tons from the previous week. The current daily consumption of imported ore by the sampled steel mills stood at 2.8507 million tons, down 43,600 tons from the previous week. The inventory-to-consumption ratio was 31.52 days, up 0.62 days from the previous week.

◎ Last week, the total inventory of imported iron ore at 47 ports nationwide reached 159.9111 million tons, an increase of 8.989 million tons from the previous week. At 45 ports, the total inventory of imported iron ore stood at 153.0081 million tons, up 9.069 million tons from the previous week.

◎ Last week, the blast furnace operating rate at 247 steel mills was 80.16%, down 0.93 percentage points from the previous week. The profit margin for steel mills stood at 36.36%, up 1.30 percentage points from the previous week. Daily molten iron production averaged 2.323 million tons, a decrease of 23,800 tons from the previous week.

◎ Last week, the average capacity utilization rate of 90 independent electric arc furnace steel plants nationwide was 53.82%, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous month and up 0.43 percentage points year-on-year. The average operating rate was 67.72%, down 1.41 percentage points from the previous month and down 0.11 percentage points year-on-year.

◎ Last week, the inventory of coking coal imports at 16 ports nationwide stood at 4.706 million tons, an increase of 56,000 tons; the inventory of coke at 18 ports was 2.458 million tons, a decrease of 14,000 tons.

◎ Li Lecheng, Party Secretary and Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, chaired a brainstorming meeting to study and formulate ideas and measures for the 15th Five-Year Plan and its inaugural year. Li Lecheng emphasized that efforts should focus on comprehensively addressing “involutionary” competition, further deepening reform in a comprehensive manner, adhering to governance based on the rule of law, and strengthening self-regulation within industries.

◎ The General Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources issued a notice regarding matters related to the reserve prices for the transfer of mining rights, stating that the reserve prices for the transfer of mining rights should follow market principles and closely reflect the fair value of such rights under conditions of open, equitable, and fully competitive markets, with the reserve price being determined by the transferor.

◎ On December 7, Yangchun New Steel held a groundbreaking ceremony for its high-speed wire rod production line and associated continuous casting machine renovation and expansion project, marking the official entry of the project into the full-scale construction phase.

◎ According to the latest data from the China Futures Association, from January to November, the nation’s futures market recorded a cumulative trading volume of 8.117 billion contracts and a cumulative trading value of 675.45 trillion yuan, representing year-on-year increases of 14.74% and 20.19%, respectively.

◎ Guangdong’s “15th Five-Year Plan” Proposal: Vigorously boost consumption and remove unreasonable restrictive measures on consumption in areas such as automobiles and housing.

◎ More than 20 cities across the country have successively suspended or adjusted applications for subsidies for trade-in programs aimed at replacing old cars with new ones. The policy of fully exempting purchase tax on new-energy vehicles has less than one month remaining; from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2027, the tax will be reduced by half, with a maximum tax reduction of 15,000 yuan per new-energy passenger vehicle.

◎ According to statistics compiled by the China Construction Machinery Industry Association on major excavator manufacturers, in November 2025, sales of various types of excavators totaled 20,027 units, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.9%. Of these, domestic sales reached 9,842 units, up 9.11% year-on-year, while export sales amounted to 10,185 units, up 18.8% year-on-year.

To be determined: China’s November trade balance;

To be determined: A new round of price adjustment window for domestic refined oil products is about to open.

15:00 Germany’s October seasonally adjusted industrial output month-on-month.

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