SMM News, March 20: This week, secondary refined lead was mostly quoted at premiums of 0-75 yuan/mt against the SMM #1 lead average price, with some cargoes available for delivered premiums of 50 yuan/mt. Affected by falling lead prices, downstream wait-and-see sentiment, and relatively cautious procurement, suppliers showed weak willingness to sell, and overall market transactions were sluggish. This week, secondary lead smelters lowered scrap battery purchase prices, easing raw material cost pressure, and losses narrowed WoW; as of March 20, 2026, the theoretical comprehensive profit/loss for large-scale enterprises stood at -337 yuan/mt, versus -541 yuan/mt for small and medium-sized enterprises (the model's by-product revenue did not include tin and antimony). As smelters that resumed production continued to release capacity, ample supply weighed on lead prices. Combined with the wide range of cargo types available to downstream enterprises, spot order premiums for secondary refined lead are expected to narrow next week, while actual prices will still depend on changes in raw material costs. > Subscribe to View Historical SMM Metal Spot Prices
Mar 20, 2026 16:01According to the latest release from the General Administration of Customs, SMM statistics showed that China’s SiMn exports were 2,539.52 mt in January 2026, down 50.55% MoM and down 31.84% YoY. China’s SiMn imports were 0 mt in January 2026, down 100% MoM and down 100% YoY. By import and export regional structure, SiMn exports were mainly destined for Indonesia.
Mar 20, 2026 18:32According to the latest release from the General Administration of Customs, SMM statistics showed that China’s total manganese ore imports were 3.4426 million mt in January 2026, up 5.14% MoM and up 102.98% YoY. January imports by origin were Australia (601,700 mt, up 3.93% MoM), South Africa (1.963 million mt, up 12.1% MoM), Gabon (331,900 mt, down 11.61% MoM), Ghana (265,700 mt, down 21.39% MoM), Brazil (121,400 mt, up 80.69% MoM), and Myanmar (43,500 mt, down 4.56% MoM).
Mar 20, 2026 16:53SMM, March 20: The SMM weekly operating rate of secondary lead across four provinces stood at 39.57% from March 13 to March 19, 2026, up 10.42 percentage points WoW. Production at enterprises in Anhui was relatively stable, while the resumption progress at other smelters was slow; raw material inventory among enterprises in Henan diverged, with mixed changes in operating rates; enterprises in Jiangsu, affected by losses, showed intentions to cut or suspend production; and a large secondary lead smelter in Inner Mongolia resumed production, driving a sharp increase in the operating rate this week. Next week, enterprises resuming production will continue to release capacity, and market attention should focus on whether loss-making enterprises will implement production suspensions in the secondary lead operating rate. 》Subscribe to View Historical SMM Metal Spot Prices
Mar 20, 2026 15:50Lead concentrate TCs remained stable this week, but it was no longer common in the Chinese market for silver-bearing lead concentrates to be extremely hard to find. As silver prices remained in the doldrums and there were no bullish expectations for lead prices for the time being, smelters also expected a decline in by-product revenue. As a result, smelters no longer accepted bargaining over lower TC quotes. Demand for all types of raw materials, including lead concentrates and silver-bearing lead concentrates, was mainly driven by rigid demand, and actual transactions were relatively muted. Silver prices retreated from highs, but market traders still held certain expectations for a catch-up rally in silver prices over the medium and long term. At present, the payable indicator for silver in lead concentrates with various silver contents remained stable, and neither mines nor smelters intended to adjust prices.
Mar 20, 2026 14:31This week, prices of 304 stainless steel scrap off-cuts in east China strengthened to 10,000-10,100 yuan/mt; prices of stainless steel scrap off-cuts of the same specification in Foshan also rose, with the price range at 9,600-9,900 yuan/mt. In terms of raw material production costs, the current cost of producing stainless steel entirely from stainless steel scrap was about 14,098.03 yuan/mt, while the cost of production using only high-grade NPI was 14,786.98 yuan/mt. This week, stainless steel scrap prices fell back, mainly driven by macro sentiment disruptions, weak futures, and pressure on both supply and demand. Escalating geopolitical conflicts, coupled with hawkish remarks from the US Fed, dragged SS futures into the doldrums overall, with the bearish impact directly transmitted to the spot market. Stainless steel finished product prices also pulled back across the board, and market pessimism gradually spread. Prices of substitute raw materials also pulled back, while stainless steel mills showed a strong inclination to push for lower prices. NPI traders turned weaker in sentiment and sold at low prices, and the high-grade NPI market also softened. In addition, Tsingshan's April tender price for high-carbon ferrochrome was set low, not only below previous market expectations but also lower than current retail quotations, limiting room for ferrochrome prices to rise and eliminating the support from substitute raw materials for stainless steel scrap. Currently, inventory at stainless steel scrap yards remained relatively high. Coupled with tight tax invoice availability, stainless steel mills were not active in procurement tenders, and the procurement pace continued to slow down. Amid the resonance of multiple bearish factors, stainless steel scrap prices fell in line with futures and finished products. Although stainless steel scrap still maintained a clear economic advantage over high-grade NPI, under the overall weak market atmosphere, cost support was difficult to translate into price support and failed to reverse the downward price trend. Overall, the stainless steel scrap market this week showed a weak pattern of "futures drag, weaker raw materials, and pressure on supply and demand." In the short term, bearish factors are expected to dominate, and stainless steel scrap prices are expected to remain in the doldrums.
Mar 20, 2026 15:28SMM launches the "SMM China Titanium Dioxide Price Index" to provide a transparent pricing reference and reflect market trends, effective from March 20, 2026.
PriceMar 19, 2026 11:59Dear User, Currently, India has gradually become an important global manufacturing and export base for PV modules. In actual trade, Indian made modules exhibit differentiated supply-demand relationships and price performances in the spot market due to the varying origins of the solar cells used. To facilitate upstream and downstream enterprises in the PV industry chain to better understand India's module export and local market conditions, grasp real-time international spot price dynamics, and convey more comprehensive and diverse price information to the market, thereby reducing transaction risks and costs in overseas trade, SMM, after a period of consolidation and market surveys, plans to officially add the 'TOPCon Module-Indian Made(with domestic solar cells)' and 'TOPCon Module-Indian Made(without domestic solar cells)' product prices as market trading references starting from January 23, 2026. The published prices are all ex-work prices for these modules in India, with specific specifications and descriptions as follows: Price Point Names: TOPCon Module-Indian Made(with domestic solar cells) TOPCon Module-Indian Made(without domestic solar cells) Price Description: Price Type: Indian ex-work price (EXW) Tax Rate Standard: Tax-excluded Definition: Indian ex-work price With Domestic Solar Cells: Refers to modules manufactured in India, with the solar cells used also produced locally in India. Without Domestic Solar Cells: Refers to modules manufactured in India, but the solar cells are imported from overseas (not produced locally in India). Unit: $/W Major Brands: Waaree Technologies Ltd, Adani Group, Vikram Solar Limited, Tata Power Company Ltd, Goldi Solar Pvt Ltd, etc. Minimum Trading Volume: 10 MW Delivery Period: Within 3 months Release Time: Every Friday at 11:00 AM Beijing Time Payment Terms: Cash, and other payment methods standardized as cash SMM PV Research Team January 13, 2026
PriceJan 13, 2026 09:29Dear Users, Since the beginning of this year, imported titanium concentrate has impacted the domestic market, and its price fluctuations have garnered close attention from downstream enterprises such as titanium dioxide and sponge titanium producers. To promote international trade of titanium products, assist global upstream and downstream enterprises in grasping market dynamics, obtaining spot price information, reducing cross-border transaction risks and costs, and deepening industry chain research, SMM has decided to launch five new price points for titanium concentrate and rutile for market reference, effective from December 29th . The specific price point information is as follows: Price Point: Titanium Concentrate (Mozambique TiO₂ ≥46%) Price Definition: VAT included, spot transaction price at port Unit of Account: RMB/tonne Country of Origin: Mozambique Price Generation Regions: Major Chinese ports including Caofeidian Port, Qinzhou Port, Zhanjiang Port, Rizhao Port, etc. Product Standard: Conforms to YB/T 4031-2015 standard, with specifications: TiO₂ (dry basis): ≥ 46.00%, S: ≤ 0.25%, P: ≤ 0.06%, Fe₂O₃: ≤ 8.0%, H₂O: ≤ 1.0% Minimum Quantity Requirement: ≥30 tonnes Release Time: Before 11:30 AM Beijing Time on business days Price Point: Titanium Concentrate (Nigeria TiO₂ ≥50%) Price Definition: VAT included, spot transaction price at port Unit of Account: RMB/tonne Country of Origin: Nigeria Price Generation Regions: Major Chinese ports including Qinzhou Port, Rizhao Port, etc. Product Standard: Conforms to YB/T 4031-2015 standard, with specifications: TiO₂ (dry basis): ≥ 50.00%, S: ≤ 0.20%, P: ≤ 0.040%, Fe₂O₃: ≤ 7.0%, H₂O: ≤ 1.0% Minimum Quantity Requirement: ≥30 tonnes Release Time: Before 11:30 AM Beijing Time on business days Price Point: Titanium Concentrate (Australia TiO₂ ≥50%) Price Definition: VAT included, spot transaction price at port Unit of Account: RMB/tonne Country of Origin: Australia Price Generation Regions: Major Chinese ports including Caofeidian Port, etc. Product Standard: Conforms to YB/T 4031-2015 standard, with specifications: TiO₂ (dry basis): ≥ 50.00%, S: ≤ 0.20%, P: ≤ 0.040%, Fe₂O₃: ≤ 7.0%, H₂O: ≤ 1.0% Minimum Quantity Requirement: ≥30 tonnes Release Time: Before 11:30 AM Beijing Time on business days Price Point: Rutile (Sierra Leone TiO₂ ≥95%) Price Definition: VAT included, spot transaction price at port Unit of Account: RMB/tonne Country of Origin: Sierra Leone Price Generation Regions: Major Chinese ports including Qinzhou Port, etc. Product Standard: Conforms to common industry standards for rutile concentrate, with specifications: TiO₂ (dry basis): ≥ 95.00%, S: ≤ 0.02%, P: ≤ 0.020%, Fe₂O₃: ≤ 0.50%, H₂O: ≤ 0.50% Minimum Quantity Requirement: ≥30 tonnes Release Time: Before 11:30 AM Beijing Time on business days Price Point: Rutile (Sierra Leone TiO₂ ≥90%) Price Definition: VAT included, spot transaction price at port Unit of Account: RMB/tonne Country of Origin: Sierra Leone Price Generation Regions: Major Chinese ports including Qinzhou Port, etc. Product Standard: Conforms to common industry standards for rutile concentrate, with specifications: TiO₂ (dry basis): ≥ 90.00%, S: ≤ 0.05%, P: ≤ 0.040%, Fe₂O₃: ≤ 1.20%, H₂O: ≤ 0.80% Minimum Quantity Requirement: ≥30 tonnes Release Time: Before 11:30 AM Beijing Time on business days SMM Titanium Industry Research Team December 23, 2025
PriceDec 23, 2025 13:23