The State Council executive meeting deploys policies to boost domestic demand; Zhongtian Steel and Yonggang announce their latest price adjustments.

◎ The State Council’s Executive Meeting has laid out a comprehensive package of fiscal and financial policies aimed at boosting domestic demand through coordinated efforts. This includes optimizing the implementation of loan subsidy policies for business entities in the service sector and personal consumer loans; implementing loan subsidy policies for small, medium, and micro enterprises; establishing a special guarantee program for private investment; setting up a risk-sharing mechanism to support bonds issued by private enterprises; and optimizing the implementation of fiscal subsidy policies for equipment renewal loans.

◎ The Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation have issued a notice, Starting April 1, the value-added tax export rebate for photovoltaic products and other similar goods will be canceled. From April 1 to December 31, the value-added tax (VAT) export rebate rate for battery products will be reduced from 9% to 6%. Starting January 1, 2027, the VAT export rebate for battery products will be abolished.

◎ According to CCTV News, several informed U.S. officials revealed that U.S. President Trump has recently received a briefing on plans for a military strike against Iran and is seriously considering whether to launch such a strike.

◎ On January 11, Jiangsu Yonggang announced its ex-factory prices for mid-January. Rebar Wire and coiled rebar are stable. Currently, the price of threaded steel is 3,450 yuan per ton, and the price of wire rod and coiled rebar is 3,700 yuan per ton. On January 10, Zhongtian Steel announced its prices for mid-January. Rebar, wire rod, and coiled rebar remain stable. Currently, the price of rebar in East China is 3,400 yuan per ton, and the price of wire rod and coiled rebar is 3,650 yuan per ton.

◎ On January 9, the No. 5 ultra-thick slab continuous caster at the Zhanjiang Iron and Steel Plant of Baosteel Shares was fully completed and put into operation. Once the project reaches full capacity, it will have an annual production capacity of 3.5 million tons of high-quality ultra-thick slabs.

◎ Last Friday, A-shares surged with increased trading volume, and the Shanghai Composite Index climbed above 4,100 points. Reaching a new high in over 10 years.

◎ The National Business Work Conference was held in Beijing from January 10 to 11. The conference pointed out that, In 2026, the national business system should prioritize work in eight key areas. This includes optimizing the implementation of the trade-in policy for consumer goods and promoting the expansion and upgrading of commodity consumption.

◎ Tianjin City has activated a Level II emergency response for severe air pollution starting at 8:00 p.m. on January 12; Xingtai City has activated a Level II emergency response for severe air pollution starting at 12:00 p.m. on January 12, with the date of lifting the alert to be announced separately.

◎ Trump said the U.S. government could shut down again on January 30.

◎ Citigroup now expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 25 basis points each in March, July, and September, whereas its previous forecast had called for rate cuts in January, March, and September this year. Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, anticipates that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points each in June and September, compared to its earlier prediction of rate cuts in January and April this year.

◎ In December 2025, U.S. nonfarm employment increased by 50,000 after seasonal adjustment, falling short of the market’s expectation of 60,000.

◎ EU member states have voted to approve the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement. Paving the way for both sides to formally sign the largest-ever free trade agreement.

◎ Last weekend, the ex-factory price of Qian'an Pufang billets in Tangshan remained stable at 2,970 yuan per ton.

◎ January 9, Main Ports Nationwide Iron ore Transactions totaled 937,000 tons, down 9% from the previous month; 237 mainstream traders. Construction steel 89,300 tons were traded, an increase of 6.6% from the previous month.

◎ According to Mysteel’s survey of construction companies, actual steel procurement volume in December 2025 was 6.67 million tons, down 6.6% month-on-month; in January, companies plan to procure 5.78 million tons of steel. Actual procurement volume in January may decline significantly month-on-month.

◎ Last week, weekly rebar production reached 1.9104 million tons, up 1.50% from the previous week; inventory stood at 4.3811 million tons, an increase of 3.81%; rebar consumption totaled 1.7496 million tons, down 12.71%.

◎ Last week, the average capacity utilization rate of 95 independent electric arc furnace steel plants nationwide was 56.91%, an increase of 1.76 percentage points from the previous month; the average plant operating rate was 72.97%, up 4.34 percentage points from the previous month.

◎ Last week, the blast furnace operating rate at 247 steel mills was 79.31%, an increase of 0.37 percentage points from the previous week. The profit margin for steel mills stood at 37.66%, down 0.44 percentage points from the previous week. Daily average... Ironwater production 2.295 million tons, Increased by 20,700 tons compared to last week.

◎ Last week, the total inventory of imported iron ore at 47 ports nationwide reached 170.4444 million tons, an increase of 3.2265 million tons from the previous week.

◎ According to the latest data from the China Index Academy, in 2025, the planned floor area of residential land transactions in 300 cities reached 620 million square meters, down 13.5% year-on-year. The total land transfer revenue amounted to 2.3 trillion yuan. A year-on-year decrease of 10.6%.

◎ China Passenger Car Association: In December 2025, retail sales of passenger cars nationwide totaled 2.261 million units, down 14% year-on-year. Total retail sales for the year amounted to 23.744 million vehicles, representing a 3.8% increase. In December, retail sales of new-energy passenger vehicles reached 1.337 million units, representing a year-on-year increase of 2.6%. For the full year, cumulative sales totaled 12.809 million units, up 17.6%.

◎ Recently China has achieved a major breakthrough in the key technologies for extracting and separating lithium resources from salt lakes. We have successfully overcome the technical bottleneck in the efficient separation of lithium, sodium, and potassium ions from lithium-rich mother liquor and have achieved large-scale industrial application—producing tens of thousands of tons—at lithium carbonate production enterprises located in salt lakes.

◎ Following Jiangshan Oupai’s closure of its production base, recently, Meike Home and IKEA China have successively reported that some regions are halting production and closing stores, signaling that the home furnishings industry has entered a period of profound adjustment.

◎ The Guangzhou Futures Exchange announced that, starting from the settlement on January 13, the daily price limit for platinum and palladium futures contracts will be adjusted to 16%, and the trading margin requirement will be adjusted to 18%.