According to data from China Customs: Combined for January–February 2026, China imported 265,100 metric tons of high-carbon ferrochrome in total, a year-on-year decline of 51.6%. Breakdown by origin: imports from South Africa were 40,700 metric tons, down 83.3% year-on-year; imports from Kazakhstan were 158,400 metric tons, down 19.7% year-on-year.

In February 2026, the operating rate of secondary copper rod was 7.98%, above expectations of 7.46%, down 9.7 percentage points MoM and down 23.72 percentage points YoY. In February 2026, China’s secondary copper rod market, jointly driven by the Chinese New Year holiday and policy uncertainty, went through a full cyclical evolution of “pre-holiday volatility and positioning...

[SMM Analysis]Secondary Aluminum Alloy Enterprises Steadily Resume Operations After Chinese New Year

【SMM Copper Cathode Rod Update】Regarding copper rod enterprise inventories after the Chinese New Year resumption, enterprises maintained a cautious approach to stockpiling and did not engage in concentrated restocking immediately after resumption, basically maintaining just-in-time procurement. On the finished product inventory side, due to incomplete production recovery and some pre-holiday stockpiling, the current focus is on digesting pre-holiday inventories.

[Zinc Price "Year-End Hurdle": Pre-Holiday Hedging and Post-Holiday Pace Management Suggestions]With the 2026 Chinese New Year approaching and the last trading week before the holiday, SMM has summarized several key points to focus on in the zinc market before and after the holiday:

[SMM Analysis: Production Recovery After Maintenance, May's Primary Lead Output May Fully Recover from Decline] It is understood that in April, large enterprises in Henan province conducted equipment maintenance as planned, which was one of the main factors contributing to the decline in primary lead output this month. Meanwhile, lead prices fell sharply in April compared to March, with the most-traded SHFE lead contract dropping from a peak of 17,805 yuan/mt in late March...