This week marked the end of the Chinese New Year holiday, with the market resuming operations. During the holiday, silver prices continued to rise, influenced by overseas market prices. Although the US Fed meeting kept interest rates unchanged as expected, Trump's tariff adjustments raised concerns about potential trade frictions, which boosted safe-haven sentiment for silver. At the same time, concerns over spot demand led to active local spot procurement, driving demand. The combination of safe-haven sentiment and spot demand pushed prices upward. During the holiday, silver prices increased, and after the holiday, domestic silver prices caught up. On the first trading day, spot prices rose by 5.3%, leading to price increases for related products.
【Economic Data】:
Bullish Factors: The US initial jobless claims for the week ending February 1 were reported at 219,000, higher than the previous value of 208,000 and the expected value of 213,000.
Bearish Factors: The US January ISM Manufacturing PMI was reported at 50.9, higher than the previous value of 49.2 and the expected value of 49.8. The US January ADP employment change was reported at 183,000, higher than the previous value of 176,000 and the expected value of 150,000. The US EIA crude oil inventory for the week ending January 31 was reported at 8.664 million barrels, higher than the previous value of 3.463 million barrels and the expected value of 1.962 million barrels.
【Spot Market】:
Silver: This week, spot silver prices in the Shanghai region remained on par with the national standard, with large manufacturers quoting at +2 to +3 yuan. Similarly, the Shenzhen region maintained quotes at +2 to +3 yuan. On Wednesday, the market was dominated by large manufacturers' spot products, while on Thursday, national standard spot products and quotes began to appear, with more quotes observed in the Shenzhen region today. In terms of overall transactions, there were some deals on Wednesday, mainly due to production consumption during the holiday and market restocking. On Thursday, high prices led to low restocking demand and very poor transactions. On Friday, downstream production resumed, improving transaction volumes compared to the previous day, with just-in-time procurement observed in the market.
Photovoltaics: Constrained by the significant rise in raw silver prices, the reference average price for solar cell rear-side silver paste this week was 5,276-5,286 yuan/kg; for solar cell busbar front-side silver paste, it was 7,899-7,914 yuan/kg; and for solar cell finger front-side silver paste, it was 7,949-7,964 yuan/kg. This week, PV industry chain enterprises gradually resumed operations, with solar cell enterprises operating at higher levels than module enterprises. Some enterprises, having stocked up before the holiday, were consuming inventory, while others placed small orders at high prices due to just-in-time procurement needs. Overall demand remained weak due to high prices, but the resumption of operations exceeded expectations.
Other Industries: Most other industries are expected to resume operations next week. To ensure production, some electrical alloy enterprises and jewelry industries engaged in just-in-time procurement of raw materials to guarantee normal production next week.
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