[Lead-Zinc Miner Enterprise Updates] Today, Jinchenxin (603979.SH) announced that the company had undertaken the 600,000 t/a mining engineering construction project of the Youre Lead-Zinc Mine in Baiyu County from Sichuan Xinyuan Mining Co., Ltd., and had recently obtained the contract documents signed and sealed by both parties. The contract period runs from March 1, 2026 to July 1, 2028.

[Chile Zinc Concentrates Exports] According to the Chilean customs website, Chile exported 1,800 mt of zinc concentrates in February 2026, up 5% MoM, with cumulative exports from January to February totaling 3,500 mt.

The overall trend for iron ore futures was weak today, with the main contract I2609 closing at 750 RMB/ton, down 2.53% from the previous session. Spot prices fell 7-12 RMB/ton, with traders showing general willingness to quote but steel mills restocking only as needed and making few inquiries

[Price Review] Silver prices continued to weaken early this week amid the fermentation of Trump's speech from last week, but on Wednesday (April 8), supported by the US-Iran ceasefire agreement and a weaker US dollar, silver prices began to rebound, surging nearly 5% on April 8 alone. Short-term capital momentum, investment demand, and industrial demand had not recovered, with strong wait-and-see sentiment among market traders. Downstream transactions were still dominated by significantly reduced premium prices, and precious metal price gains remained relatively limited. Gold/silver ratio, as of April 8, the LBMA gold/silver ratio stood at 62, maintaining a fluctuating trend in the short term. [Key Data] Bearish: US March seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls came in at 178,000, above expectations and the previous value US March unemployment rate was reported at 4.3%, below expectations and the previous value US EIA crude oil inventory for the week ending April 3 was 308.1, above expectations and the previous value US API crude oil inventory for the week ending April 3 was above expectations and the previous value On April 7, the US and Iran reached a ceasefire agreement, but Trump threatened that any country providing military weapons to Iran would be immediately subject to a 50% tariff. Data and macro news releases to watch next week include: On April 10 (Friday), the US is set to release March CPI data. Affected by energy price surges caused by the Iran war, the market widely expects inflation to rise significantly. Geopolitics, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf will lead an Iranian delegation to negotiate with the US in Islamabad, Pakistan, with the US side led by Vice President Vance. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz invited both the Iranian and US delegations to further negotiate in Islamabad on April 10 to reach a final agreement resolving all disputes. Regarding the Strait of Hormuz situation, cracks appeared in the US-Iran ceasefire agreement, with Iran claiming three key provisions were violated, and the Strait of Hormuz has been closed again. [Price Forecast] In the short term, the trajectory of the US-Iran conflict remains the primary factor determining whether silver prices will sustain the rebound, with insufficient support from short-term industrial demand and investment demand. China fundamentals side, silver ingot spot cargo had shown a slight surplus and inventory buildup trend. Due to relatively pessimistic expectations for the PV industry in April, just-in-time procurement demand for silver nitrate, silver powder, and silver paste enterprises declined. As the SHFE April delivery approaches, suppliers showed a notably increased intention to deliver and liquidate, and the upward trend in silver ingot social inventory is likely to continue. Although silver prices next week may be boosted by the ceasefire and a weaker US dollar, the overall in the doldrums situation for precious metals has not been fully reversed. Spot transaction expectations remain at a slight premium or shifting to parity, and close attention should continue to be paid to changes in geopolitical conflicts and their impact on market sentiment and capital flow adjustments.

SMM, April 9: The most-traded SHFE lead 2605 contract opened at 16,760 yuan/mt during the session. SHFE lead prices dipped slightly at the beginning of the session, touching a low of 16,715 yuan/mt, before rebounding and stabilizing. Towards the end of the session, SHFE lead prices fluctuated around the daily average line, ultimately closing at 16,785 yuan/mt, recording a small bearish candlestick, down 15 yuan/mt or 0.09%. Overnight, the Lebanon-Israel conflict continued to escalate, hostile actions between Iran and Israel resumed, and Iranian media reported that the Strait of Hormuz had been fully closed. Combined with rising expectations for US Fed interest rate hikes, the non-ferrous metals sector was broadly under pressure during the session. Supply side, more enterprises resumed operations after the Qingming Festival and maintenance capacity gradually recovered, with both primary lead and secondary lead supply increasing slightly. Demand side, downstream enterprises only maintained just-in-time procurement, a few entities restocked on dips, while the rest primarily fulfilled long-term contracts, and spot order market transactions remained sluggish. In the short term, upward momentum for lead prices is insufficient, and prices are expected to move sideways. Data source statement: Data other than publicly available information is derived from publicly available information, market communication, and SMM's internal database models, processed by SMM for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice.

[Silicon Metal Prices Remained Stagnant at Low Levels]: The silicon metal market remained stagnant with a weak tone this week, with price centers for some specifications shifting lower. As of April 9, SMM east China oxygen-blown #553 silicon was at 8,900-9,100 yuan/mt, down 100 yuan/mt WoW; #441 silicon was at 9,200-9,300 yuan/mt, down 100 yuan/mt WoW; #421 silicon was at 9,300-9,500 yuan/mt, down 100 yuan/mt WoW; and #3303 silicon was at 10,100-10,300 yuan/mt, flat WoW. In the futures market, the most-traded silicon metal contract moved sideways around 8,200-8,400 yuan/mt over the past week, as the silicon metal market was under pressure with narrow price fluctuations.