This week, the weekly operating rate of leading downstream aluminum processing enterprises in China rebounded 1.1 percentage points MoM to 64%.

This week, ferrous metals retreated after a rapid rise. At the beginning of the week, the market said that Asia had shifted to coal-fired power generation due to a natural gas supply deficit, while Indonesia would increase coal production and impose export taxes. The rise in international coal prices was transmitted to China, and coking coal and coke led the gains in ferrous metals; mid-week, the Middle East situation remained volatile, and the U.S. and Iran held differing attitudes toward war, with ferrous metals consolidating at high levels; the pullback in the second half of the week was also mainly due to the weakening of the cost-side logic, as market rumors said long-term iron ore contract negotiations had been completed, expectations for tightening iron ore supply declined, and raw materials turned into the main driver of the pullback. In the spot market, speculative trading and end-user purchase sentiment improved in the first half of the week, while rigid demand remained dominant in the second half, and the spot-futures price spread widened somewhat......

This week, the tungsten market showed a divergent trend with mild corrections in domestic prices and a contrarian rise in overseas APT prices. Domestic tungsten concentrate and midstream product prices remained relatively firm, while scrap tungsten prices dropped sharply as profit-taking emerged. Supported by a tight supply-demand balance, overseas markets strengthened, further widening the price gap between domestic and international markets.

As of March 24, the operating rate of 50 electric-furnace steel mills nationwide mainly producing construction materials was 40.42%, up 1.78% WoW from the previous period; the capacity utilization rate was 41.75%, up 1.88% WoW from the previous period; and daily average production of construction materials was 93,000 mt, up 4,200 mt WoW.

This week, the domestic praseodymium-neodymium oxide market experienced narrow fluctuations, with prices remaining relatively stable overall while market sentiment saw minor shifts. Early in the week, firm pricing intentions from upstream separation plants and just-in-time procurement from large enterprises helped improve trading sentiment temporarily, prompting sellers to test higher offers and pushing prices slightly upward. However, persistent weakness in end-user demand and limited new orders from downstream magnetic material companies led to a generally pessimistic outlook on near-term consumption. As a result, downstream metal producers showed little enthusiasm for procurement, with price acceptance clearly constrained. When offers exceeded 720,000 RMB/ton, buying interest dropped significantly, and actual transactions faced resistance. Without sufficient momentum, prices eventually retreated to around 710,000 RMB/ton, forming a pattern of initial gains followed by a pullback. From a supply-demand perspective, some upstream separation plants are currently undergoing temporary suspensions or production cuts due to environmental inspections or maintenance, leading to a certain degree of supply contraction that provides underlying support for prices. Meanwhile, downstream demand remains weak, with no notable improvement in end-user consumption, leaving the market without strong positive catalysts. Overall, the market is characterized by weakness on both the supply and demand sides, with intense game-playing between upstream and downstream participants. Sellers show limited willingness to concede on prices, while buyers maintain a cautious wait-and-see approach, with actual transactions primarily driven by essential needs. In the short term, the praseodymium-neodymium oxide market is expected to continue in this stalemate, with ongoing tussling between the two sides and prices likely to move within a narrow range, with limited room for significant upward or downward movement.

[SMM Daily HRC Trading] On March 27, the total daily HRC trading volume of sample enterprises in four cities tracked by SMM (Shanghai, Lecong, Tianjin, and Ningbo) was 14,490 mt, up 360 mt day on day, or 2.5%, with solar-calendar YoY growth of 28.57% and lunar-calendar YoY growth of 9.77%.