SMM, May 7, 2025 The most-traded SHFE lead 2506 contract opened at 16,710 yuan/mt today. After the opening, it fluctuated downward, dipping to a low of 16,650 yuan/mt. Affected by market rumors, SHFE lead briefly surged to catch up with gains, but returned to a consolidation trend in the afternoon. It finally closed at 16,700 yuan/mt, with a 0% decline and an open interest of 36,929 lots. The supply of raw materials in the lead industry chain is tight. Coupled with weak downstream ingot procurement, many secondary lead smelters have reduced or halted production due to loss pressures. Overall, the short-term trend of lead prices is likely to remain rangebound. Subscribe to view historical SMM metal spot prices

SMM Daily Review: Domestic Market Outperforms Overseas Market for Metals, SHFE Tin and SHFE Silver Rise Over 1%, Alumina Records Four Consecutive Gains, European Container Freight Rises Over 2%. At the close of the day, base metals in the domestic market collectively rose, with SHFE tin leading the gains at 1.26%, while other metals increased by less than 1%. Alumina's main contract rose 1.01%, marking four consecutive gains. Additionally, lithium carbonate's main contract rose 0.7%, silicon metal's main contract fell 1.31%, and polysilicon's main contract fell 0.26%. The main contract for European container freight rose 2.29%.

The uncertainty of US tariff policies, combined with the intense rebound in global trade policies it has triggered, has heightened market concerns about the prospects for global economic growth, becoming a key driver behind the repeated record highs in gold prices in recent times. Meanwhile, as the risk of US economic "stagflation" increases, market expectations for an increase in the number of US Fed interest rate cuts have risen, and this monetary easing expectation has also supported the rise in gold prices. On March 18, precious metal futures and stocks rallied again. As of 18:45 on the 18th, COMEX gold rose 0.83% to $3,031.1 per ounce, hitting a new intraday record high of $3,037.6 per ounce; COMEX silver rose 1.22% to 34.725 yuan per ounce; SHFE gold rose 0.81% to 700.7 yuan per gram, hitting a new intraday record high of 701.26 yuan per gram; SHFE silver rose 0.34% to 8,350 yuan per kilogram.

[SMM Stainless Steel Spot Daily Review: Stainless Steel Futures and Spot Prices Surged This Week, but Upward Momentum May Be Insufficient Going Forward] This week, under the supply-demand mismatch in fundamentals, spot and futures prices rose driven by sentiment. Prices of 200-series, 300-series, and 400-series stainless steel increased to varying degrees across multiple regions. However, while spot prices were boosted by futures, downstream sentiment remained cautious, and purchasing as needed hindered transactions. On the cost side, rising prices of high-nickel pig iron, South African chrome ore, and 304 stainless steel scrap pushed up costs, with steel mills relying on price hikes to maintain profits. Based on supply-demand fundamentals and inventory levels, uncertainty looms over the stainless steel market next week, and prices are unlikely to sustain their upward trend.

[SMM Lithium Carbonate Futures Review: LC2505 Most-Traded Contract Rose by 1.03%] On January 17, the LC2505 most-traded lithium carbonate futures contract rose by 1.03%. According to the data, the contract opened at 80,500 yuan/mt and closed at 80,740 yuan/mt. The trading volume was 235,115 lots, and the open interest reached 244,609 lots, an increase of 7,309 lots compared to the previous trading day.