1. According to the National Climate Center, sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific entered an El Niño state in May, developing into a moderate to strong El Niño event during the summer and autumn, peaking in the autumn and winter. The probability of a strong El Niño event is increasing, and it is expected to weaken next spring.
2. According to Mysteel, major coking plants have initiated the fifth round of coke price increases, raising wet-quenched coke prices by 50 yuan/ton and dry-quenched coke prices by 55 yuan/ton, effective from 00:00 on June 1st.
3. Mysteel data shows that the latest survey results on May 29th indicate that 130 coking coal mines in Shanxi Province had suspended production since May 23rd, and 18 had resumed production as of the morning of May 29th, involving a capacity of 25.3 million tons.
4. According to the steel industry PMI surveyed and released by the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing's Steel Logistics Professional Committee, the PMI for May 2026 was 47.9%, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points month-on-month, indicating a slowdown in the steel industry's operation. Sub-indices show that the steel industry began to show signs of the off-season in May, with demand slowing down, supply remaining stable but weak, and the rate of destocking of finished products slowing, while raw material and steel prices continued to rise.
5. A weekly report released by the Argentine National Secretariat of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries showed that as of May 28, Argentina's 2025/26 soybean harvest was 89%, compared to 83% in the same period last year and 77% the previous week.
6. Indonesia's Ministry of Trade announced on Friday that it has set the June reference price for crude palm oil at $1029.51 per ton, lower than May's $1049.58 per ton.
7. According to foreign media reports, data from Chile's National Institute of Statistics and Censuses shows that Chile, the world's largest copper producer, saw its copper production in April decline by 13.81% year-on-year to 399,954 tons.
