[Slow Resumption of Downstream Work and Inactive Market]: Spot premiums in Tianjin rose slightly this week, up 5 yuan/mt WoW from pre-holiday levels. As of Friday, domestic generic brands were quoted at a discount of 50 yuan/mt to a premium of 20 yuan/mt against the 2603 contract, while premium brands were quoted at a premium of 10–40 yuan/mt against the 2603 contract. Tianjin market was quoted at a discount of about 20 yuan/mt against Shanghai market, narrowing the price spread between Shanghai and Tianjin.

This week (February 20–26), the SMM copper wire and cable enterprise operating rate was 27.72%, up 12.52 percentage points WoW. Since the eighth day of the first lunar month after the holiday, most wire and cable enterprises have resumed work gradually, but affected by the lagging recovery of end-users, they have not yet fully reached full production, with production mainly focused on executing pre-holiday orders on hand. By end-use sector, order structure showed significant divergence: orders from the power sector such as State Grid and China Southern Grid provided strong support, resulting in relatively good production schedules; orders from construction, communications, and other sectors performed weakly, with overall demand still in a rebound phase. Inventory side, after resuming work, enterprises mainly restocked cautiously, so raw material inventory this week increased 4.24% WoW; for finished product inventories, although enterprises prioritized inventory consumption, due to slow cargo pick-up by end-users, only a slight destocking was achieved, down 2.29% WoW. Looking ahead to next week, after the Lantern Festival, end-use industries will gradually resume work, and the pace of order release is expected to accelerate. SMM expects that next week (February 27–March 5) the copper wire and cable operating rate will increase 30.64 percentage points WoW to 58.36%, up 1.25 percentage points YoY compared to the second week after resumption last year.

[ SMM Tin Morning Brief: Night session sees the most-traded SHFE tin contract surge then maintain fluctuating trend; spot market trading remains sluggish ]

The US tariff reset is increasingly reshaping the ex-China battery market as a supply-chain design issue, not just a cost issue. With EV growth slowing and volatility rising, ESS—driven by project-based infrastructure demand—can provide a utilization and cash-flow buffer. As a result, “localization × ESS” execution and product-mix flexibility (including LFP) are becoming more central to competitiveness.

SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: LME copper opened at $13,317/mt overnight, fluctuated rangebound after opening, then touched a low of $13,168/mt, and subsequently the center rose to touch a high of $13,348/mt, finally closing at $13,259/mt, down 0.68%. Trading volume reached 18,000 lots, a decrease of 809 lots from the previous trading day; open interest reached 316,000 lots, a decrease of 4,795 lots from the previous trading day, overall mainly showing bulls reducing positions. The most-traded SHFE copper contract opened at 102,670 yuan/mt overnight, fluctuated downward after opening, then touched a low of 101,780 yuan/mt, and subsequently the center rose to touch a high of 102,880 yuan/mt, finally closing at 102,550 yuan/mt, down 0.15%. Trading volume reached 55,000 lots, a decrease of 51,000 lots from the previous trading day; open interest reached 186,000 lots, an increase of 1,437 lots from the previous trading day, overall mainly showing bears increasing positions.

According to precious metals and refinery services provider Heraeus, the gold price continues to show a consolidation phase. Following record highs at the end of December, the market is currently moving sideways within a clearly defined trading range rather than forming a pronounced upward or downward trend.