[SMM Aluminum Express News] Hindalco Industries said aluminum exports to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have increased slightly as the company filled supply gaps created by the West Asia crisis. Around 70% of Hindalco’s aluminum is consumed domestically, while 25–30% is exported, with most overseas shipments directed to Northeast Asia. The company is also ramping up its new Aditya FRP rolling mill in Sambalpur, aiming to ease India’s aluminum can supply shortage by end-2026.

Walk the bauxite-alumina-aluminum value chain across Central Asia's five republics and the picture resolves quickly: one country runs the whole chain, one runs a piece of it, and three play no meaningful role at all. That picture, however, may be on the verge of a significant shift.

Indonesian authorities suspended over 50 mining firms during work plan inspections, while power issues are forcing Weda Bay industrial park to cut NPI output in June, keeping raw material costs elevated and global nickel prices high. As a result, Chinese Taiwan's upstream stainless steel mills are expected to announce flat-to-higher prices for June, following five consecutive months of increases. While semiconductor expansion and green energy infrastructure support local demand, sustained price hikes risk triggering buyer resistance among exporters. Market participants anticipate mills will balance high production costs against domestic market tolerance, pointing to a steady-to-slightly-higher pricing outcome.

[SMM Analysis] Weak Downstream Consumption Increases Pressure on Ex-China Steel Trading Price spread model, the price inversion of Chinese steel relative to overseas markets (India, Japan, Turkey, Black Sea) deepened further in late May. In particular, Chinese resources were cheaper compared to Indonesia, and the price spread was "narrowing at an accelerating pace." For pure ex-China inter-regional price spreads, India's decline was more pronounced compared to other regions, as weak domestic demand drove aggressive low-price bidding. Segment-wise, steel procurement sentiment in Southeast Asia became more cautious last week, with coil prices weakening. In Vietnam, coated steel and steel pipe prices began to slow down after a prolonged rally, and buyers became increasingly cautious about restocking ahead of the rainy season. Meanwhile, due to weak demand and growing pressure from low-priced imports, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, a subsidiary of Taiwan's China Steel Corporation, also cut its HRC quotations by $5-10/mt to $598-603/mt CIF Vietnam. Although some Vietnamese downstream steel mills continued to raise or maintain prices due to earlier increases in raw material costs and tight spot supply, some producers had begun to limit orders or delay quotations while waiting for a clearer market direction. Notably, Indonesian HRC quotations remained competitive with relatively active exports, with FOB prices at around $565/mt. According to SMM survey, recent transaction prices to Vietnam were around $585/mt CFR. Turkey market: As the Middle East was set to enter a long holiday mid-week, most market participants had already exited early. According to SMM survey, no clear large-volume transactions were seen in the Turkish steel scrap market last week. Meanwhile, as domestic rebar demand remained sluggish, steel mills pushed their target purchase prices for European HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap below $400/mt CFR to pass on the pressure. The recent euro depreciation and slight correction in ocean freight rates opened up some discount room for European sellers to a certain extent, but judging from actual market transactions, sellers still found it difficult to accept such low prices. At the same time, US exporters continued to hold prices firm at $420/mt CFR. In addition, mainstream quotations for Turkish domestic HRC remained at $660-675/mt EXW. Due to exchange rate fluctuations and high production costs, steel mills were striving to hold prices firm, but downstream buyers remained cautious in purchasing, with expected psychological prices 15-20 $/mt lower. Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM"), and SMM legally enjoys complete copyright and related intellectual property rights. The copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information property rights, and other related intellectual property rights of all content contained in this report (including but not limited to information, articles, data, charts, pictures, audio, video, logos, advertisements, trademarks, trade names, domain names, layout designs, etc.) are owned or held by SMM or its related right holders. The above rights are strictly protected by relevant laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China, such as the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, as well as applicable international treaties. Without prior written authorization from SMM, no institution or individual may: 1. Use all or part of this report in any form (including but not limited to reprinting, modifying, selling, transferring, displaying, translating, compiling, disseminating); 2. Disclose the content of this report to any third party; 3. License or authorize any third party to use the content of this report; 4. For any unauthorized use, SMM will legally pursue the legal responsibilities of the infringer, demanding that they bear legal responsibilities including but not limited to contractual breach liability, returning unjust enrichment, and compensating for direct and indirect economic losses. Data Source Statement: (Except for publicly available information, other data in this report are derived from publicly available information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, corporate financial reports, brokerage reports, data from the National Bureau of Statistics, customs import and export data, various data published by major associations and institutions, etc.), market exchanges, and comprehensive analysis and reasonable inferences made by the research team based on SMM's internal database models. This information is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice. SMM reserves the final interpretation right of the terms in this statement and the right to adjust and modify the content of the statement according to actual circumstances.

[SMM Tin Morning Brief: The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Rose Slightly in Late Trading, Spot Market Largely Maintained a Cautious Stance]

The production ramp-up at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is expected to be positive for Taiwanese steelmakers. As semiconductor capacity continues to expand, related construction demand for plants, equipment support, and ancillary facilities is also expected to grow, providing support for steel consumption in Taiwan. The view suggests semiconductor expansion is increasingly seen as a structural positive for the island’s steel demand.