From January to July, excavator sales surged by more than 24% year on year. The PVC industry is undergoing concentrated maintenance: August 10 commodity market update.

Macro

1. [PPI] According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in July 2026, the national producer price index rose by 3.5% year on year and fell by 0.7% month on month. The producer input price index rose 5.5% year on year and fell 1.0% month on month. In the January–July period, on average, the producer price index rose by 1.8% year on year, while the producer input price index increased by 2.8%.

2. [CPI] According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in July 2026, the national consumer price index rose by 0.5% year on year. On average to January–July, the national CPI was up 0.9% compared with the same period last year. In July, the national consumer price index declined by 0.1% month-on-month.

3. [Imports and Exports] According to customs data, in the first seven months of 2026, China’s foreign trade maintained strong development momentum, with total import and export value reaching RMB 30.13 trillion, up 17.3% year on year. Among them, exports totaled 17.44 trillion yuan, up 14%, while imports reached 12.69 trillion yuan, an increase of 22%, with the development rate of imports continuing to outpace that of exports.

4. [Excavators] According to the latest statistics from the China Construction Machinery sector Association, 19,521 excavators of various types were sold in July 2026, a year-on-year increase of 13.9%. Of these, domestic sales totaled 7,608 units (including 41 electric excavators), up 4.13% year on year; exports reached 11,913 units (including 62 electric excavators), up 21.2% year on year. From January to July, cumulative excavator sales totaled 171,841 units, up 24.8% year on year; domestic sales reached 86,633 units, an increase of 18.8%; and exports amounted to 85,208 units, up 31.7%.

5. According to data on U.S. nonfarm payrolls, employment fell by 23,000 in July, while the market had expected an increase of about 80,000. Employment figures to the first two months were also revised significantly downward: might was revised from an increase of 129,000 to 63,000, and June was revised from an increase of 57,000 to 20,000, to a combined reduction of 103,000 over the two months.

Energy

1. [Crude Oil] On August 7, international crude oil futures closed higher. U.S. WTI crude oil futures to the September contract settled at $78.18 per barrel, up $0.89, or 1.1%. The October Brent crude oil futures contract settled at $83.55 per barrel, up $1.06, or 1.3%.

2. [Diesel] In the early hours of August 8, the Irkutsk Refinery (6.6 million tons/year) and the Syzran Refinery (8.9 million tons/year) were attacked and caught fire; this marks the second incident at the Syzran facility within a week. Russian refining and processing has fallen to its lowest level since 2002, and the incident has further suppressed global diesel and fuel oil supply expectations.

3. [Natural gaseous] CNOOC announced that the first phase research project of Bozhong 19-6 gaseous field, the first 100 billion square gaseous field in Bohai Sea, has been fully put into operation, with a daily oil and gaseous equivalent of over 5200 tons. With the successive research of deep‑aquatic environments buried‑hill reservoirs such as Bohai 19‑6 and Bohai 26‑6, China’s offshore deep‑aquatic environments buried‑hill fields have collectively contributed over 6 million tons of oil and gaseous production, and their research capacity has been significantly enhanced.

4. [Natural gaseous] China imported 10.54 million tons of natural gaseous in July; From January to July, natural gaseous imported 67.923 million tons.

5. [Lignite] In July, China’s imports of coal and lignite totaled 42.728 million tonnes, while cumulative imports from January to July reached 268.109 million tonnes.

Chemical engineering

1. [Phosphate Rock] On August 6, to enhance the self-sufficiency rate of phosphate resources, Xingfa Group plans to raise no greater than RMB 3 billion through a non-general offering, with the proceeds earmarked to projects including the construction of the Qiaogou Phosphate Mine’s 2.8-million-ton‑per‑year mining operation.

2. Soda ash: As of the week ending August 6, the operating rate of soda‑ash vegetation stood at 78.37%, down 2.32 percentage points from the previous week; soda‑ash production totaled 746,400 tonnes, a decrease of 2.87% week on week.

3. [Soda Aash] In the week of August 6, domestic soda ash stocks were 1.8495 million tons, up 2.71 from last week, including 1.0586 million tons of light soda ash and 790900 tons of heavy soda ash. Chinese soda ash producers shipped 697,600 tonnes, down 6.87% month on month, with a shipment rate of 93.46%.

4. [Fluorite] On August 10, the fluorite market in Jiangxi Province saw prices rise. Currently, the ex‑factory tax‑inclusive price to 97%‑grade wet‑ground fluorite powder is mainly quoted at RMB 3,550–3,600 per tonne.

5. [Lithium Carbonate] Sichuan Guocheng Lithium sector Co., Ltd. and Jike Supply Chain regulation (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. have signed a prolonged Lithium Carbonate Cooperation Agreement, under which the latter will supply battery-grade lithium carbonate from August 2026 to July 2036. Pricing will be based on the monthly average price on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange, with tiered discounts applied.

6. [Lithium Carbonate] In June, Argentina’s lithium carbonate production reached 11,987.1 tonnes, up 59.1% year on year; cumulative output to the first half of the year increased by 49.4% year on year, while lithium‑ore exports surged 185% compared with the same period last year.

Rubber and plastic

1. [PA66] The UK’s recycled nylon company Epoch Biodesign has acquired the PA66 polymerization plant in Spain formerly owned by Evonik Industries to slightly over EUR 4 million. The plant, with an annual output of 52,000 tons, will shift to the production of recycled materials, retaining approximately 60 jobs. The company plans to combine AI enzyme recovery methodology to build a complete closed-loop manufacturing chain.

2. [PVC] PVC sector Maintenance Concentrated to Landing: Inner Mongolia Junzheng Wuda Factory Maintenance on August 10 and 21; New Zhongjia stopped on August 20; Formosa Ningbo Vinyl PVC Overhaul in August. Domestic cumulative nearly 5 million tons of PVC production capacity in the maintenance/shutdown window, electric stone just need to support the continuation.

3. [PE] Dynamics of Energy Extension PE Unit: The 450000-ton low-voltage unit will be shut down to maintenance from August 3 and is expected to end on September 22.

4, [rubber] customs data show that in July 2026, China imported 580000 tons of natural and synthetic rubber, down 8.5. From January to July 2026, China’s total imports of natural and synthetic rubber (including latex) amounted to 4.515 million tonnes, down 4.1% year on year.

5. [Tires] The American Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) predicted U.S. tire shipments to that year in July 2026. It is expected that total shipments will drop by 1.8 to 0.3303 billion in 2026, down from 0.3363 billion in 2025 and 0.3327 billion in 2019.

Textiles

1. In accordance with the standards of relevant national authorities and the 2026 Central Reserve Cotton Sales Announcement, the floor price to the fourth weekly rotation sale of central reserve cotton, calculated using the prescribed formula, is RMB 16,480 per tonne (converted to standard grade 3128B).

2. [Lint] China Cotton Reserve regulation Co., Ltd. is scheduled to go on sale on August 10 through the national cotton trading market. The central cotton reserve weighs 8023.6830 tons, totaling 46 bales.

3. Cotton Linters: From August 3 to August 7, a total of 40,100 tons of state‑reserve cotton were offered to sale, with all 40,100 tons sold, achieving a 100% transaction rate. The average transaction price is 17014 yuan/ton, the 3128 price is 17663 yuan/ton, and the average increase is 1497 yuan/ton.

4. [Lint Cotton] The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) forecasts that global cotton production to the 2026/27 season will decline by 2% to 25.8 million tonnes, while consumption is expected to remain around 25.5 million tonnes. The supply-demand gap is steadily narrowing, making exporters’ inventories increasingly crucial to meeting international demand.

Steel

1. [Iron Ore] Workers at the Port of Hedland in Western Australia, employed by mining giant BHP, began a two-day strike on the 8th, which includes a 24-hour ban on ship loading followed by another 24 hours of work stoppage.

2. [Iron and Steel] The 1780mm pickling and cold rolling project of the Tosyali cold rolling complex project constructed by Hebei Metallurgical Construction Group Co., Ltd. has recently successfully completed the thermal load test run and successfully entered the production stage.

3. [Galvanized Sheet] On August 7, the inventory of key domestic cities was monitored. The social inventory of galvanized sheet coils was 1.5993 million tons in the week, up 9500 tons from the previous week, 600 tons from the previous month, and 310500 tons from the previous year.

4. [Steel] Customs data show that China exported 10.121 million tons of steel in July 2026 and 64.995 million tons in January-July, down 4.4 percent from the same period last year. In July, China imported 445,000 tonnes of steel. From January to July, cumulative steel imports totaled 3.14 million tonnes, down 10.1% year on year.

5. [Steel] According to the China Iron and Steel Association, during the latter half of July 2026, key steel companies collectively produced 20.51 million tonnes of crude steel, with an average daily output of 1.864 million tonnes—down 7.5% from the previous period; 19.30 million tonnes of pig iron, averaging 1.754 million tonnes per day—a decrease of 4.7% month-on-month; and 21.80 million tonnes of steel items, with a daily average of 1.982 million tonnes—an increase of 2.7% compared with the prior period. Based on these estimates, during this ten-day period, the nation’s daily crude steel output stood at 2.52 million tonnes, down 7.5% from the previous period; daily pig iron production was 2.22 million tonnes, down 4.7%; and daily steel product output reached 4.16 million tonnes, up 0.6%.

In late July 2026, the steel inventories of key statistical steel companies totaled 16.28 million tonnes, down 1.85 million tonnes, or 10.2%, from the previous ten-day period; up 2.14 million tonnes, or 15.1%, from the beginning of the year; roughly unchanged from the same ten-day period last month; up 1.50 million tonnes, or 10.1%, from the same period a year earlier; and up 230,000 tonnes, or 1.4%, from the same period two years ago.

Colored

1. The Wusi River germanium deposit was approved by the International Mineralogical Association in August 2026, marking China’s first independently recognized germanate mineral. With an average germanium oxide content of 72%, it is the third germanium-rich mineral discovered at this site and holds significant implications to research into the mechanisms of germanium enrichment.

2. [Aluminum] Guinea signed a contract with the state-owned enterprise Nimba Mining to independently carry out bauxite mining and sales, lay out alumina and aluminum items processing to enhance added value, enhance mining revenue manage, and promote the industrialization goal of "Simandou 2040.

3. [Zinc] It is understood that the maintenance of mines in some areas of the country will resume in August, and the output is expected to increase month on month. However, considering the frequent disturbance of domestic mine supply and the shutdown of some mines to some reasons, it is expected that the development rate of domestic zinc concentrate production in August will be limited.

4. [Gold] China’s gold reserves stood at 76.08 million ounces (approximately 2,366.353 metric tons) as of end-July, up 640,000 ounces (about 19.91 metric tons) from the previous month. China’s central bank has increased its gold reserves to the 21st consecutive month.

5. [Copper Ore] In July 2026, imports of copper ore and concentrates totaled 2.379 million tonnes. From January to July, cumulative imports amounted to 16.985 million tonnes, down 1.8% year on year.

6. [Copper] In July 2026, imports of unwrought copper and copper items totaled 425,000 tonnes. From January to July, cumulative imports amounted to 2.915 million tonnes, down 6.2% year on year.

Building materials

1, [glass] as of August 6, 2026, the national float glass sample companies total inventory of 74.898 million heavy boxes, ring -455000 heavy boxes, ring -0.6, year-on-year +21.1. Discount inventory days 34.3 days, compared with the previous period -0.1 days.

Agricultural and sideline items

1. [Soybean] According to the announcement of the State Grain Trading Center, entrusted by China Grain Oil and Fat Co., Ltd., a bidding transaction of 516000 tons of imported soybeans was organized at 13:30 on August 12, 2026 at the Grain Trading Coordination Center of the State Grain and Material Reserve Bureau and the national grain trading centers of all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) connected to the network.

2. [Soybean] Customs data show that China imported 11.477 million tons of soybeans in July 2026 and 61.511 million tons in January-July 2026, an increase of 0.7 percent over the same period last year.

3. [Soybean] The US Department of Agriculture's Zhou du Export Sales Report shows that as of July 30, 2026, the cumulative US soybean export to China (mainland region) in 2025/26 (starting from September 1) was 12.29 million tons, down from 12.29 million tons a week ago, down from 22.48 million tons in the same period last year.

4. [Corn] The US Department of Agriculture's Zhou Dou Export Sales Report shows that as of July 23, 2025, the US corn export shipment to China (Mainland) in 2025/26 was 0 tons, compared with 32700 tons in the same period last year. The United States did not ship corn to China that week, and there was no shipment in the previous week.

5. [Corn] EU data show that, year-to-date in the 2026/27 marketing year, EU corn imports have increased by 30% compared with the same period last year. The share of the United States has increased significantly. As of August 2, 2026, Ukraine is the EU’s largest corn supplier, with shipments totaling 681,000 tonnes, up 62.0% year on year; its market share has risen from 43.2% in the 2025/26 marketing year to 54.0%.

6. [Rapeseed] EU data show that EU rapeseed imports decreased by 61% year-on-year in 2026/27, with the share of imports from Ukraine growing. As of August 2, 2026, Ukraine was the EU's number one supplier of rapeseed, with a volume of 36000 tons, an increase of 152.8 percent year-on-year, and its share increased from 5.4 percent to 35.2 percent.

7. [White Sugar] As of July 1, the 2026/27 squeezing season had squeezed 214.47 million tons of sugarcane in Brazil's main producing areas, up 3.82 from 206.573 million tons in the same period of the previous squeezing season. The main producing areas produced 10.754 million tons of sugar, 1.52 million tons less than 12.274 million tons in the same period of the previous season, down 12.38 percent from the same period last year.

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(Source: Business Society)