LME stocks: copper 303,525 tonnes (-1,675t); aluminium 284,600 tonnes (-1,625t); zinc 113,450 tonnes (-825t); nickel 274,704 tonnes (unchanged); lead 370,075 tonnes (+80,700t); tin 7,840 tonnes (-115t).

At a July 14 State Council Information Office briefing on improving the natural resource asset management system, Ministry of Natural Resources Vice Minister Zhang Wentong said China’s urbanization and city development have shifted from an expansionary (incremental) phase to a stock-focused phase. To support quality-driven urban development, the land reserve system must continue to innovate and be reformed while still fulfilling its role.

United Microelectronics (UMC), Taiwan’s No.2 foundry, said its Singapore fab has begun volume production of silicon photonics wafers to meet rising hyperscaler and AI data-center demand for high-speed optical interconnects. UMC said it completed platform transfer from R&D to production readiness in 18 months with Singapore fabless SILITH Technology and plans to open a self-developed 12-inch silicon photonics platform to customers for product development by 2027. Citigroup analysts are constructive on UMC’s H2 outlook, forecasting Q2 2026 revenue to rise 13% QoQ and gross margin to recover. UMC reported June revenue up 22.85% YoY at NT$23.12 bln (about US$719 mln); H1 revenue rose 11.28% YoY.