[Electric Drive Assembly Designated Orders Landed, Magnesium Alloy Opens Up Incremental Space in Automotive Sector] Recently, the application of magnesium alloy in the lightweighting of NEVs accelerated, with semi-solid die casting and large-scale integrated molding technology becoming the mainstream direction. Orders and capacity for core components such as electric drive housings and auto body structural parts advanced simultaneously.

[Silicon Metal Futures Center Shifted Higher with Increased Enterprise Shipments; Heavy Wait-and-See Sentiment in Polysilicon Market]: In the futures market, the most-traded contract trended stronger during the week, with the SI2609 contract center at 8700-8800 yuan/mt and the highest point touching above 8,900 yuan/mt. Driven by macro factors and news, futures rose, boosting silicon producers' shipment sentiment, and silicon enterprises' shipments to trading firms engaging in both spot and futures market increased. On the fundamentals side, silicon metal supply and demand were in tight balance in April, and the supply-demand structure is not expected to see major adjustments in May. Facing the pressure of increased supply during the rainy season in Sichuan and Yunnan from June to July, the market outlook leaned toward caution. On the cost side, raw material prices remained firm. With upside in silicon metal prices capped and downside supported by costs, the price fluctuation range was narrow.

[SMM Aluminum Alloy Daily Review] The ADC12 market overall remained in the doldrums today. SMM ADC12 prices were lowered by 100 yuan/mt to 23,800 yuan/mt. Affected by the pullback in primary aluminum prices and weak downstream demand, enterprises actively lowered their offers, and the mainstream transaction center shifted downward. With the Labour Day holiday approaching, downstream enterprises gradually entered production suspension or production cuts mode. Pre-holiday stocking demand was notably insufficient, and market trading sentiment turned sluggish.

According to SMM statistics, as of this Thursday, the social inventory of secondary aluminum alloy ingots in China's major consumption areas stood at 56,800 mt, up 7,500 mt WoW, marking three consecutive weeks of inventory buildup. Recently, end-use demand continued to weaken, with insufficient downstream purchase willingness and a notable slowdown in shipments pace, causing in-factory inventory to continuously shift to social inventory and intensifying inventory buildup pressure.

[SMM Cast Aluminum Alloy Morning Comment: April Secondary Aluminum PMI Data Fell Below the 50 Mark, Off-Season Pressure Expected to Persist in May] The aluminum AL2606 contract opened at 23,010 yuan/mt in the night session, reaching a high of 23,120 yuan/mt and a low of 22,880 yuan/mt, closing at 22,940 yuan/mt, down 160 yuan/mt from the previous settlement price, a decline of 0.69%.

[SMM Brief] SHFE data showed that on April 29, the total registered cast aluminum alloy warrants stood at 32,624 mt, an increase of 421 mt from the previous trading day. By region, Shanghai registered 1,822 mt (unchanged), Guangdong 10,878 mt (down 30 mt), Jiangsu 4,769 mt (up 392 mt), Zhejiang 9,506 mt (up 59 mt), Chongqing 4,143 mt (unchanged), and Sichuan 1,506 mt (unchanged).