Bank of Korea governor expects the GDP output gap to turn positive sooner than previously anticipated.

日本央行副行长冰见野良三：基准情景出现的可能性自7月以来可能略有上升，但我认为坚持我在七月时的观点是安全的。

CPCA’s Cui Dongshu said lithium battery export prices have fallen sharply, from 142,900 yuan in 2024 to 112,300 yuan in 2025 and 105,000 yuan in 2026; China’s July export average was 106,000 yuan, down 3% YoY. As vehicle production scales up, PPI is rising and upstream lithium carbonate costs have increased; export prices continue to fall while domestic battery prices have surged. Carmakers that do not produce batteries lack pricing power, driving sustained and sizable profit deterioration across the auto sector; mainstream OEMs face sharply rising profitability pressure despite NEV policy support. Government efforts to curb destructive competition may gradually improve upstream margins, but downstream profit pressure is likely to remain high.