The state-owned China Southern Power Grid company has planned to accelerate its investment in new energy vehicle charging facilities in the coming years, as part of the move to develop "new infrastructure" projects for boosting sustainable growth of the economy. 

A copper smelter in south-west China has put its facilities into month-long maintenance as scheduled, sources told SMM. 

The US will continue to levy countervailing duties on carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from China, according to the final determination on the first five-year sunset review on the CVD order by the Department of Commerce released on March 30.

The work resumption rate for businesses in Wuhan, Hubei province, the epicentre of the COVID-19 in China, has increased to 85.4%, with the resumption rate for workers reaching 40.4%, said local authorities on Wednesday April 1. 

Silicon producers in south-west China’s provinces Yunnan and Sichuan, major production areas of silicon in China, planned to delay their resumption due to the recent sharp declines in silicon prices as the coronavirus pandemic dampened overseas demand. 

SMM data showed that iron ore stocks across 35 Chinese ports totalled 106.86 million mt as of April 3, down 910,000 mt from a week ago and 30.44 million mt lower than a year ago. Arrivals at major ports have been declining for two consecutive weeks, accounting for lower stocks.

Social inventories of lead ingots in China continued to trend downsides this week, but the decline slowed down from a week ago due to rising supplies of secondary lead.

An SMM survey showed that operating rate across lead-acid battery producers in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hebei provinces averaged 65.03% in the week ended April 3, down 0.2 percentage point from last week. 

Nickel ore inventories across all Chinese ports decreased 270,000 wmt in the week ended April 3 to 9.98 million wmt, compared to a decline of 400,000 wmt in the previous week, showed SMM data.

Operating rates across licensed smelters of secondary lead in Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Guizhou continued to recover, rising by 6.9 percentage points from the prior week to 40.4% in the week ended April 3, showed an SMM survey.