SMM June 16 News: Today, the most-traded SHFE lead 2607 contract opened at 16,215 yuan/mt, moved sideways around the daily average in early trading, trended higher during the session to touch a high of 16,360 yuan/mt, pulled back slightly near the end of the session, and finally closed at 16,310 yuan/mt, recording a two-day winning streak, up 70 yuan/mt or 0.43%. Boosted by a broad rise in the non-ferrous metals sector, SHFE lead continued to move higher today. Supply side, primary and secondary smelters have both production stoppages and resumptions, with bullish and bearish factors tugging at each other; demand side, downstream purchase willingness remained weak, with purchases only for essential restocking, and spot lead transactions were sluggish. SMM lead ingot inventories across five regions edged up slightly yesterday. After the delivery of materials is absorbed, inventory buildup pressure will ease marginally, and lead prices have support for a recovery in the short term. Data Sourcing Disclaimer: All data, except for publicly available information, are processed by SMM based on public information, market communication, and SMM's internal database models, and are provided for reference only, not constituting any decision-making advice.

The average warrant price on June 16 remained unchanged from the previous trading day, reported at $59/mt (price range $54-64/mt); the average B/L price remained unchanged, reported at $61/mt (price range $55-67/mt); the average price for EQ copper (CIF B/L) rose $4/mt from the previous trading day, reported at $33/mt (price range $30-36/mt), with quotations referencing cargoes arriving in mid- to late June and early July. During the day, there were abundant offers for EQ, and transactions also recovered from the previous day. After the SHFE/LME price ratio firmed, although buyer demand remained concentrated on registered B/Ls for late-June arrival, demand for EQ also improved. It was heard that EQ B/Ls for early-July arrival were traded around $30/mt, and a small number of actual EQ B/Ls for late-June arrival changed hands above $35/mt. It was heard that a few registered B/Ls for late-June arrival were offered at $70-75/mt.

[SMM Aluminum Alloy Daily Review] The SMM ADC12 average price was reported at 24,100 yuan/mt today, down 100 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. During the day, both aluminum futures and aluminum prices weakened, dragging on the ADC12 price to some extent. However, structural issues such as tight tax invoices and difficulties in purchasing compliant aluminum scrap have not eased, keeping enterprises' production costs under continuous pressure and providing some support to spot ADC12 prices. Overall, the current ADC12 market presents a pattern of "strong cost support, weak demand follow-up". In the short term, the downside room for prices is limited, but there is also a lack of sufficient driving force for an upward breakout. Prices are expected to move sideways.

[SMM Nickel Flash] On June 16, futures stopped falling in the previous trading session, driving an improvement in market sentiment. NPI market transactions saw a surge in volume, with actual orders placed for various grades of material. The overall trading atmosphere noticeably improved compared to the earlier period, with divergent transaction prices but a concurrent increase in liquidity across different grades. Steady futures supported the restoration of market sentiment, and coupled with the support of bulk spot transactions, the short-term NPI market maintained a pattern of tiered pricing, recovering transactions, and a rebounding price center.

SMM, June 16: The SHFE aluminum price center in the morning session was far below the same period yesterday. However, affected by the sharp decline in aluminum prices, buyer purchasing sentiment surged, driving seller quotes and transaction prices to strengthen continuously. Some sellers, influenced by the aluminum prices, held back from selling and raised their quotes. The mainstream spot transaction prices were at a discount of 80 to a discount of 90 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum July contract. Today, the shipment sentiment index in East China was 2.83, down 0.13 MoM; the purchasing sentiment index was 3.06, up 0.30 MoM. SHFE aluminum futures prices plunged in the night session of the previous day and the morning session today. In the central China market, the buying sentiment of downstream processing enterprises recovered, and their willingness to stockpile increased. Trading firms engaging in both spot and futures markets tended to quickly earn price spreads, and the sentiment of holding prices firm and holding back from selling was strong, keeping market quotes high. Ultimately, the actual transaction price range in the central China market was at a discount of 120-140 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum July contract. Today, the shipment sentiment index in the central China market was 2.91, down 0.01 MoM; the purchasing sentiment index was 2.22, up 0.02 MoM. On the inventory front, the aluminum ingot inventory in major consumption areas fell 0.25 MoM today, with destocking mainly driven by Guangdong and Wuxi.

[SMM Daily Review: Multi-Grade Batch Deals Conclude, Nickel Iron Prices Strengthen in Tiers] June 15 news: SMM high-grade NPI upstream sentiment factor was 2.75, up 0.01 MoM, while the high-grade NPI downstream sentiment factor was 1.87, up 0.03 MoM.