{"id":65985,"date":"2026-08-05T03:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T07:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/french-industrial-output-falters-while-apple-faces-memory-price-standoff\/65985\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T03:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T07:08:12","slug":"french-industrial-output-falters-while-apple-faces-memory-price-standoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/french-industrial-output-falters-while-apple-faces-memory-price-standoff\/65985\/","title":{"rendered":"French Industrial Output Falters While Apple Faces Memory Price Standoff"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>French manufacturing production fell 1.1% in June<\/strong>, missing expectations as the industrial sector grapples with high costs and weak demand.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>) is facing a pricing deadlock with CXMT<\/strong> over LPDDR5X mobile DRAM, with the Chinese supplier reportedly rejecting requests for price cuts despite Apple&#39;s efforts to lower iPhone manufacturing costs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Glencore (<a href=\"\/stock\/GLEN\">GLEN<\/a>) has halted new business with iron ore trader Radiant World<\/strong> and taken a non-material provision on its books following allegations of document falsification.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Memory costs for Apple are projected to rise significantly<\/strong> through the September quarter, driven by AI-related demand diverting supply away from mobile devices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>French Industrial Sector Under Pressure<\/h2>\n<p>France&#39;s industrial landscape showed signs of strain in June 2026, with <strong>manufacturing production dropping 1.1% month-over-month<\/strong>, a steeper decline than the previous month&#39;s 1.0% contraction. On a year-over-year basis, manufacturing output plummeted <strong>1.7%<\/strong>, reversing a prior growth trend of 2.5%. <em>Economists point to persistent price pressures and low client confidence, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions, as the primary drivers of the slowdown.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Broader industrial production, which includes energy and mining, managed a marginal <strong>0.1% increase in June<\/strong>, though this fell short of the <strong>0.3% estimate<\/strong>. The yearly figure for total industrial production dipped into negative territory at <strong>-0.1%<\/strong>, down sharply from the 3.2% growth recorded previously. <em>The data suggests a deepening malaise in the Eurozone\u2019s second-largest economy as factories clear backlogs rather than fulfilling new orders.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Apple\u2019s Supply Chain Tensions with CXMT<\/h2>\n<p>Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>) is reportedly struggling to mitigate rising hardware costs as it negotiates with Chinese memory giant <strong>ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT)<\/strong>. Despite Apple\u2019s attempts to secure lower prices for <strong>LPDDR5X mobile DRAM<\/strong> to ease pressure on the next-generation iPhone lineup, CXMT has reportedly rejected these requests. <em>The Chinese firm is instead insisting on prices comparable to or higher than those of market leaders Samsung and SK Hynix.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This standoff comes at a critical time for Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>), which has already implemented price hikes across several product lines due to a global memory shortage. <em>The shortage is largely attributed to the AI boom, which has diverted production capacity toward high-bandwidth memory for data centers.<\/em> Furthermore, Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>) faces significant <strong>political pushback from U.S. lawmakers<\/strong>, who are urging the company to avoid Chinese suppliers like CXMT due to national security concerns.<\/p>\n<h2>Glencore Limits Exposure to Radiant World<\/h2>\n<p>Commodity giant Glencore (<a href=\"\/stock\/GLEN\">GLEN<\/a>) has officially distanced itself from <strong>Radiant World<\/strong>, one of the world&#39;s largest iron ore traders. Management confirmed that they have <strong>stopped all new business<\/strong> with the firm and have taken a provision on existing contracts. <em>The move follows reports that Radiant World may have provided banks with invalid or falsified documents to secure financing.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Glencore (<a href=\"\/stock\/GLEN\">GLEN<\/a>) emphasized that its remaining exposure to Radiant World is <strong>limited<\/strong> and is not expected to have a material impact on its financial results. This retreat mirrors actions by other major players like <strong>Vitol<\/strong> and <strong>Cargill<\/strong>, who have also cut ties with the trader. <em>The situation highlights the fragile nature of trust in the trade finance sector, where banks like Intesa Sanpaolo have already booked \u20ac200 million in provisions related to the firm.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways French manufacturing production fell 1.1% in June, missing expectations as the industrial sector grapples with high costs and 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