[SMM Analysis]Analysis of Import and Export Data for Unwrought Aluminum Alloy, January-February 2026

[[Weekly Review of Aluminum Scrap and Secondary Aluminum]]Aluminum Prices Strengthened This Week, Rising Costs Drove Up ADC12 Prices

According to data, China's total imports of recycled copper raw materials reached 2.34 million physical tons in 2025, up 3.96% year-on-year from 2.25 million physical tons in 2024. However, the source structure shifted markedly. Among the top five supplier countries, imports from the United States plunged 67.88% year-on-year amid ongoing China-US trade tensions, while imports from Malaysia fell 32.61% due to tightening scrap import policies. Offsetting these declines, imports from Thailand surged 88.58%, and those from Japan and South Korea rose 32.96% and 32.95% respectively, driving a continued increase in Asia's overall share of supply.

Artificial intelligence has once again captured traders' attention. Although Nvidia's performance exceeded expectations, its stock price remained sluggish throughout the day, ultimately closing down more than 5%, dampening market sentiment. Influenced by the weak performance of the U.S. semiconductor sector, benchmark index contracts in Japan and South Korea, where technology stocks hold a relatively high weight, declined, while contracts in Australia and Hong Kong saw slight gains. These fluctuations further indicate the market's high sensitivity to AI-related news, as participants strive to comprehend the long-term implications of this rapidly advancing technology. According to Hardika Singh, an analyst at Fundstrat Global Advisors, the market's mediocre reaction to Nvidia's better-than-expected earnings report is partly because investors now take such exceptional performance for granted.

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

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to tomorrow, the contango spread between nearby futures contracts is expected to narrow slightly. Suppliers' willingness to ship to delivery warehouses remains, coupled with some smelters choosing to stockpile for delivery. Additionally, suppliers' sentiment to hold prices firm and hold back sales is evident, leading to limited tradable spot cargo in the market, which will support the spot discount structure. Moreover, some price ratio-based cargoes locked in during the previous period when the import window was open are expected to arrive gradually, potentially increasing supply in the short term. Overall, spot discounts are expected to continue narrowing slightly tomorrow.