Price
News
- Demand Improved, Iron Ore Prices Rose Slightly [SMM Brief Review]
Dalian iron ore futures rose in early trading and pulled back in the afternoon. The most-traded contract, I2605, finally closed at 824 yuan/mt, up 0.55% from the previous trading session. Spot prices rose by about 2-5 yuan from the previous trading day. Traders were relatively active in offering quotes, while steel mills made fewer inquiries and purchased cautiously, with overall transactions in the spot market remaining average. In terms of fundamental data, blast furnace maintenance intensity continued to pull back this week, with maintenance affecting hot metal production by 1.65 million mt, down 206,500 mt WoW. It was expected to decrease by a further 180,000 mt next week to 1.4684 million mt, indicating a gradual improvement on the demand side. In terms of supply, tight supply still persisted in the market, and there was no news of any significant adjustment, which remained supportive for iron ore in the short term. However, some funds, out of concern over downstream risks, tended to stay on the sidelines, and overall wait-and-see sentiment was strong. In summary, iron ore prices were expected to hover at highs in the short term.
Mar 24, 2026 16:55 - SHFE Tin Stopped Falling and Rebounded, Closing Up 2.94%, as Macro Headwinds and Bottom Support Pulled in Opposite Directions [SMM Daily Tin Commentary]
[SMM Tin Brief Commentary: SHFE Tin Stopped Falling and Rebounded, Closing Up 2.94% as Macro Pressure and Bottom Support Vied Against Each Other]
Mar 24, 2026 18:33 - SHFE Tin Pulled Back Under Pressure in Early Trading After Rebounding, Spot Transactions Weakened [SMM Tin Midday Commentary]
[SMM Tin Midday Commentary: SHFE Tin Pulled Back Under Pressure in Early Trading After Rebounding, and Spot Transactions Weakened]
Mar 24, 2026 12:01 - Offers Continued to Rise Intraday While Transactions Were Limited, and Buyers Maintained Strong Wait-and-See Sentiment [SMM Yangshan Spot Copper]
March 24, 2026: The average warrant price was unchanged from the previous trading day, closing at $52/mt (price range: $44-60/mt); the average B/L price was unchanged from the previous trading day, closing at $53/mt (price range: $45-61/mt); the average price of EQ copper (CIF B/L) was unchanged from the previous trading day, closing at $30/mt (price range: $25-35/mt), with quotations referring to cargoes scheduled to arrive from late March to mid-April. Intraday offers showed faint signs of continuing to rise, but transactions delivered mediocre performance. It was heard that a small volume of pyrometallurgy B/L arriving in late March was offered at $50-60/mt, QP April; EQ B/L arriving in late March and early April was offered at $35, while EQ B/L arriving in mid-to-late April was offered at $35/mt and traded at $30/mt, with QP available in both April and May. General ER copper warrants for delivery within the week were offered at $50/mt, QP April.
Mar 24, 2026 12:23 - LME Lead Rebounded Strongly After Hitting Bottom; SHFE Lead Opened Higher With a Gap, Came Under Pressure, and Pulled Back [SMM Lead Morning Brief]
SMM, March 24: Overnight, LME lead opened at $1,889/mt. In early trading, LME lead fluctuated downward, dipping to $1,873.5/mt. Then bulls stepped in, driving prices sharply higher, with wide swings in the $1,888.5-1,909/mt range and a session high of $1,909/mt. Near the close, bullish momentum somewhat faded, and LME lead edged down slightly to finally close at $1,898.5/mt. It posted a small bullish candlestick, up $9.5/mt, or 0.5%. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE lead 2605 contract opened higher with a gap at 16,495 yuan/mt. In early trading, SHFE lead prices briefly fluctuated upward, reaching a high of 16,510 yuan/mt. It then saw wide swings in the 16,440-16,500 yuan/mt range. During the session, SHFE lead fluctuated downward, falling to 16,405 yuan/mt. Late in the session, SHFE lead prices stabilized slightly and rebounded, finally closing at 16,435 yuan/mt. It posted a small bearish candlestick, up 40 yuan/mt, or 0.24%. Supply side, discounts quoted by primary lead enterprises narrowed slightly WoW, and among cargoes self-picked up from production site, heavily discounted cargoes were also hard to find. The number of enterprises quoting secondary refined lead was relatively small, and there were clear differences between upstream and downstream in price acceptance: downstream had low acceptance of premiums, while upstream held firm offers and showed cautious willingness to sell. Demand side, procurement by downstream enterprises was somewhat scattered. Some mainly made purchases under long-term contracts, while others bought the dip as needed, resulting in differentiated market transactions. SMM expects SHFE lead prices to remain in the doldrums in the short term.
Mar 24, 2026 08:53 - The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Continued to Consolidate Weakly, with Strong Wait-and-See Sentiment in the Market [SMM Tin Midday Commentary]
[SMM Tin Midday Commentary: The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Continued Its Weak Consolidation, and Market Wait-and-See Sentiment Was Strong]
Mar 23, 2026 12:03
Announcements
Dear Users: Hello: To ensure data consistency with the source and respond to customer feedback, we have expanded the unit of zinc-related import and export data in the non-ferrous metals database to the smallest level. Core changes: Units such as "10,000 mt" and "mt" have been changed to "kg". The specific details are announced as follows: I. Reasons for Adjustment Due to the need for country-specific breakdown of imports and exports, the unit has been adjusted to the smallest value To better serve customers, SMM has expanded the import and export data related to the zinc industry chain to include all countries. This will result in the previously set units such as "mt" and "10,000 mt" being unable to match data from all countries. Therefore, SMM has changed the unit to the smallest value. II. Adjustment Details III. Effective Date of Adjustment This adjustment will take effect on August 8, 2025 SMM (Shanghai Metals Market) August 4, 2025
DataAug 4, 2025 11:34- Price[SMM Announcement] Announcement on Updates to Secondary Refined Lead Price Standards and Methodology
Dear users, On August 29, 2025, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration of China jointly issued the "Secondary Lead Ingot (GB/T 21181-2025)" (hereinafter referred to as the "new national standard"), which will officially take effect on March 1, 2026. Compared to the "Secondary Lead and Lead Alloy Ingot (GB/T 21181-2017)" (hereinafter referred to as the "old national standard"), the new national standard revised the scope. It changed from "This standard applies to secondary lead and its alloy ingots produced by smelting and processing using lead-containing scrap as raw material, mainly used in batteries, alloys, chemical industry, and other fields" to "This document applies to secondary lead ingots produced by pyrometallurgical smelting and processing using waste lead-acid batteries and recycled lead and lead alloy materials as raw materials, mainly used in lead-acid batteries, alloys, chemical industry, and other fields." Regarding secondary lead grades, the ZSPb99.994 and ZSPb99.992 secondary lead ingot grades were deleted the ZSPb99.990, ZSPb99.986, and ZSPb99.983 secondary lead ingot grades were added. Details are as follows: With the development and changes in the secondary lead industry, the actual production and use of secondary lead in the market in recent years have already diverged significantly from the old national standard. In addition to changes in the main element lead content, the bismuth (Bi) content has also undergone substantial changes. According to SMM's understanding of major producers and users of secondary lead, the distribution by bismuth content usage is as follows: enterprises using bismuth content ≤0.008% account for about 15% those using ≤0.012% account for about 60% and those using ≤0.015% account for about 25%. Furthermore, based on its price assessment methodology, SMM solicited market suggestions on the specifications for the secondary refined lead price. Market feedback recommended that the price collection standard for SMM's secondary refined lead price reference the new national standard for secondary lead, with grade ZSPb99.99 accounting for 24%, grade ZSPb99.986 for 66%, and grade ZSPb99.983 for 10%. Considering that the current actual usage in the secondary lead market covers the three grades specified in the new national standard for secondary lead, SMM will define the specifications for the national and regional prices of secondary refined lead as ZSPb99.983-99.99%, based on real market transaction conditions. The new standard will be officially implemented from January 1, 2026, serving as the reference standard for SMM's price assessments. During this period, SMM will continue to collect suggestions and feedback from all parties, closely follow changes in the lead industry chain market, and identify and optimize SMM prices to better serve the industry! For any questions regarding prices, please contact lead analyst Wenming Xia at 021-51666839. SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. Lead and Zinc Research Division December 25, 2025
PriceDec 25, 2025 09:41 Dear User, To further optimize the SMM ternary cathode precursor data service and better align it with market demands, we are adjusting the naming of certain monthly ternary precursor output data points. The specific changes are as follows: Additionally, to more precisely meet customer needs, we are now splitting the monthly output data for 7-series, 8-series, 9-series, and NCA ternary precursors, providing independent data for each series. The newly added and adjusted data points are as follows: Based on the above adjustments, the data points for the monthly output forecast values of ternary precursors have been simultaneously updated. The specific changes are as follows: Thank you for your continued attention and support for SMM's new energy and nickel data services. SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. New Energy and Nickel Research Team August 21, 2025
DataAug 21, 2025 20:08