This week, ferrous metals were in the doldrums. The main logic during the week remained weakening cost support. On Tuesday, Iran proposed charging transit fees for the Strait of Hormuz, while Trump made conciliatory remarks, saying that “even if the Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed, he would still be willing to end military action against Iran.” Market expectations for tighter crude oil supply weakened, and declines in the energy sector dragged down the coal sector, weakening the cost-side logic. During the week, inventories of the five major steel products continued to decline, but apparent demand remained at a low level for the same period in previous years, providing limited fundamental-driven momentum to futures. In the spot market, purchasing interest was average, mainly focused on restocking at low prices. Spot prices were relatively firm, and the spot-futures price spread widened somewhat......

On April 2, 2026, the White House ushered US steel trade policy into "Version 2.0." This strategic shift goes beyond simple tariff hikes. It uses full-value taxation and melt-and-pour traceability to block low-end imported raw materials, while applying structural tariff reductions to finished products to ease manufacturing inflation. Ultimately, this two-pronged approach aims to forcibly bring the global supply chain back to domestic US steel production.

[SMM Daily Brief Review of Coking Coal and Coke] In terms of supply, coking coal costs for coke producers declined somewhat, and with the first round of coke price increases now fully implemented, losses at coke producers narrowed significantly, boosting production enthusiasm. Coke supply increased steadily, while downstream demand remained moderate, shipments were smooth, and producers' own inventory continued to decline. Demand side, steel mill blast furnaces gradually resumed production, and daily average hot metal production continued to increase, driving up rigid demand for coke. However, steel mills have recently seen good coke arrivals, with most mills' coke inventory at mid-range levels and overall procurement sentiment remaining average. In summary, coke market fundamentals have shifted toward looser supply and demand, and coupled with weaker recent cost support for coke, the coke market may remain temporarily stable in the short term, with further price increases facing greater difficulty.

[SMM Lead Morning Meeting Summary: Macro Uncertainty + Approaching Holiday, Lead Prices Are Expected to Remain in a Consolidation Pattern] US President Trump claimed on his own that he had achieved an “overwhelming victory” in the war against Iran and would launch extremely fierce strikes in the next two to three weeks. As of Friday, with parts of the European and US markets closed for Good Friday and China also approaching the Qingming Festival holiday, SHFE lead did not conduct night session trading on Friday...

[SMM Tungsten Express] As of April 2, European tungsten raw material and scrap prices continued to rise. According to SMM data, APT CIF Rotterdam is quoted at $3,100-3,200/mtu, averaging $3,150/mtu, up $350 from last week. European scrap carbide blades are at €135-145/kg, averaging €140/kg, up €10 from last week; scrap drill tips at €145/kg. Trading activity was light ahead of the Easter holidays, but tight feedstock supply continues to support expectations of further price increases.

[SMM Weekly Silicone Review: Silicone Product Prices Rebounded, While Overall Market Transactions Remained Sluggish] This week, the transaction range in China’s silicone DMC market was 14,200-14,300 yuan/mt, up 200 yuan/mt WoW, with overall market transaction prices seeing a phased rebound.