[SMM Silicone Weekly Review: Silicone DMC Transaction Center Continued to Rise, Shipments Performance of Downstream Products Diverged] The transaction center of China's silicone DMC market moved up this week, with mainstream transaction range at 14,700-15,000 yuan/mt, up 100 yuan/mt WoW. Regional quotations showed slight divergence. Monomer enterprises in Shandong quoted 14,700 yuan/mt, while mainstream quotations in other regions reached 15,000 yuan/mt. Additionally, some enterprises primarily used their supplies for internal consumption, with only small volumes for exports, quoting higher at 15,500-15,900 yuan/mt.

The cobalt chloride market sentiment this week remained largely unchanged from the previous week, with bulls and bears continuing to wrestle and the stalemate yet to be broken. Supply side, top-tier enterprises maintained firm quotations, with mainstream quotations hovering around 116,000 yuan/mt, supported by solid cost support, with some transactions concluded at around 114,000 yuan/mt. Small and medium-sized producers, under pressure from capital recovery and shipments, lowered quotations to 112,000-114,000 yuan/mt, but actual shipments were limited, generally at 2-3 truckloads. Demand side, downstream enterprises gradually depleted inventory and began considering moderate restocking at low levels, with market inquiries becoming more active and transactions recovering slightly. Overall, the market still lacked clear momentum to drive a price breakthrough. Although low prices appeared from time to time, considering factors such as enterprise performance, capital conditions, and shipment volumes, they were unlikely to significantly impact the market. Currently, downside room was very limited, with raw material costs providing strong support. The cobalt chloride market is expected to remain largely stable in the near term.

This week, prices of 304 stainless steel scrap off-cuts in east China rose, with a quotation range of 10,550-10,650 yuan/mt. In Foshan, the same-specification stainless steel scrap off-cuts also strengthened, with a price range of 10,050-10,450 yuan/mt. From a raw material cost perspective, the current cost of producing stainless steel entirely from stainless steel scrap was approximately 14,761.4 yuan/mt, while the cost using entirely high-grade NPI reached 15,134.31 yuan/mt. Stainless steel scrap prices further strengthened this week. SS futures surged significantly, driven by SHFE nickel's rally amid geopolitical conflicts, which in turn transmitted to the spot market and pushed stainless steel spot prices higher in tandem. The alternative raw material high-grade NPI also rose in sympathy, bullish sentiment continued to build, and stainless steel scrap prices followed suit, maintaining a strong trend. The recent rapid rise in high-grade NPI prices further widened the cost advantage of stainless steel scrap over high-grade NPI. This core competitive edge continued to drive steel mills' preference for stainless steel scrap even amid persistent tax invoice issues plaguing the industry. Meanwhile, smelting margins at stainless steel mills gradually recovered, production enthusiasm remained high, production schedules stayed high, and procurement demand for stainless steel scrap remained solid, providing firm support for price rises. Overall, the stainless steel scrap market this week exhibited a further strengthening pattern characterized by "futures leading, raw material linkage, and demand support." Various supportive factors jointly dominated market trends, and although tax invoice issues persisted, they did not significantly constrain the strong price momentum. Stainless steel scrap prices were expected to hold up well in the near term.

[SMM Magnesium Weekly Review: Dual Support from Costs and Stockpiling — Magnesium Ingot Prices Stopped Falling and Stabilized This Week] This week, China's magnesium industry chain overall showed a stable-to-firm trend, moving sideways. Raw material dolomite relied on supply from neighboring provinces due to production halts in major producing areas, while downstream primary magnesium smelting operating rates rose to form rigid demand support. Combined with high transportation costs, prices remained stable overall with delivery-to-factory prices consolidating at highs. The Chinese market for magnesium ingots consolidated at lows and stabilized, benefiting from pre-holiday restocking that drove transaction recovery and enterprise sentiment to hold prices firm amid rising smelting costs. The export market remained sluggish as ex-China clients chased lower prices and new orders were weak. Magnesium powder and magnesium alloy markets operated steadily in tandem — the former maintained production based on demand supported by stable domestic and export orders and sufficient raw material inventory, while the latter moved in line with magnesium ingot prices, with processing fees remaining firm and benefiting long-term from demand support driven by tightening regulatory standards for two-wheeled electric vehicles under the new national standard. The overall industry chain supply-demand pattern showed localized divergence but remained generally stable.

SMM April 29: SHFE aluminum 2605 fluctuated upward in early trading, with overall aluminum prices still operating within the recent lower range. Some downstream enterprises had completed pre-holiday stockpiling, and overall restocking sentiment pulled back today. Affected by low aluminum prices, overall market shipment sentiment was weak. Some sellers maintained relatively high quotations due to the impact of declining aluminum prices. Some offered lower prices for cargoes with invoices dated next month due to invoice shortages. The market quotation range was wide, with mainstream transactions concentrated around SMM A00 aluminum -20 to +20 yuan/mt. Today's east China market shipment sentiment index was 2.75, down 0.16 MoM; purchasing sentiment index was 2.90, down 0.74 MoM. On the last day before the Labour Day holiday, downstream processing enterprises in central China had basically completed early stockpiling, and with next month's policies unclear, traders' concerns over insufficient invoice quotas suppressed transactions for cargoes with invoices dated next month, with overall market buying sentiment being sluggish. However, some holders worried about insufficient invoices and tended to offload cargoes in bulk, causing price collapse in some shipment prices. Ultimately, actual transaction prices in the central China market ranged from parity to a discount of 30 yuan to the central China price. Today's central China market shipment sentiment index was 2.84, up 0.01 MoM; purchasing sentiment index was 2.33, down 0.08 MoM. Inventory side, aluminum ingot inventory in major consumption areas fell 1.4 MoM today, with all three regions showing destocking trends.

Today's daytime session saw platinum futures prices continue to edge down. The most-traded PT2606 contract on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange closed at 483.85 yuan/gram in the morning session, down 0.81%. The SGE Pt9995 versus Guangzhou Futures Exchange PT2606 was inverted by 1-2 yuan/gram. Spot side, mainstream spot quotations showed discounts basically flat compared to the previous trading day. Morning session spot platinum trader mainstream quotations were at a discount of 1-3 yuan/gram to PT2606. Many enterprises temporarily withdrew from market quotations due to invoicing rectification and the approaching holiday. Transaction side, according to SMM, a small volume was traded at around a 3 yuan/gram discount to Guangzhou Futures Exchange contracts in the morning session. Downstream enterprises showed low purchase willingness and mostly adopted a wait-and-see approach. The overall market was dominated by a strong holiday atmosphere, with both trading and investment activity remaining subdued.