Latest Update in the China Chromium Market

SHFE nonferrous metals all closed lower on Friday May 14. Copper declined 1.92%, aluminium fell 2.03%, zinc shed 0.59%, nickel dropped 1.29%, lead slumped 2.24% and tin slid 0.13%.

Social inventories of silicon metal across Huangpu port, Kunming city and Tianjin port declined 8,000 mt from the previous week to 39,000 mt as of Friday May 14, SMM data showed. Trades were active in the silicon metal market. Stocks in Kunming were shipped to Huangpu port; inventories declined at Tianjin port; output declined in Yunnan due to power consumption restrictions, and operating rates were low in Sichuan amid a normal-water period. 

Operating rates across lead-acid battery producers in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hebei provinces lost 0.79 percentage point from April 30 to 74.21% as of Friday May 14.

As of May 14, iron ore inventories across 35 ports tracked by SMM totaled 119.32 million mt, a decrease of 3.22 million mt from the previous week, but up 18.87 million mt year-on-year. Daily average deliveries from the 35 ports increased 60,000 mt on a weekly basis to 2.74 million mt this week.

Inventories of refined nickel in the Shanghai bonded areas decreased 600 mt from a week ago and stood at 8,700 mt as of May 14, showed SMM data.

Nickel ore inventories across all Chinese ports increased 54,000 wmt from May 8 to 5.54 million wmt as of May 14, showed SMM data.

SMM data showed that the stocks rose 4,300 mt from the prior week to 401,900 mt as of Friday May 14.

Operating rates across primary lead smelters in Henan, Hunan and Yunnan provinces increased 3.7 percentage points from the previous week to 57.7% in the week ended May 14, showed an SMM survey.