SMM has reviewed and refined its 2025 energy storage data, adjusting monthly shipment volumes and renaming data points for clarity.
DataFeb 11, 2026 09:58Driven by intensifying global competition for energy and mineral resources, the reshaping of refined copper trade flows, and the resurgence of U.S. manufacturing policies, the U.S. market has once again emerged as a key pricing anchor in international refined copper distribution. According to SMM research, U.S. annual refined copper consumption is estimated at 1.6–1.8 million metric tons, with the Midwest — home to a high concentration of copper-intensive manufacturing — serving as the country’s largest region for copper processing, delivery, and end-use. Over time, this region has developed a mature spot trading market under the DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) delivery model. Since 2025, global copper trade dynamics have shifted significantly. The U.S. has become increasingly reliant on imports from Latin America, Europe, and Africa. With frequent tariff policy changes, a surge in COMEX stock levels, more active trade tenders, and renewed long-term contract negotiations, the Midwest DDP premium has become an essential reference point for industrial trade and arbitrage models across the supply chain. Against this backdrop, Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) will officially launch the Copper grade 1 cathode premium, ddp Midwest US on February 1, 2026. Quoted in US cents per pound (¢/lb), this premium will be based on representative spot DDP trades in the U.S. Midwest. The price reflects a weighted average considering warehouse transfer costs, regional logistics fees, trading activity levels, and brand preferences — offering an objective and actionable settlement benchmark for market participants. The price will be updated daily and published on both the SMM official website. Historical curves and price analytics will also be made available. This price release aims to enhance pricing transparency across the refined copper supply chain and provide more granular tools for trade execution, long-term contract negotiations, and production planning — supporting more efficient and accurate price discovery in the global market. Key specifications of the SMM U.S. Midwest DDP Refined Copper Premium are as follows:
PriceJan 20, 2026 09:45SMM Clarification Statement SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM" or "the Company"), as a professional spot market price reporting agency and information provider, has recently noticed the circulation of false information regarding the fairness of SMM's price assessment. To avoid market misunderstandings, maintain a healthy and transparent market environment, and protect the Company's legitimate rights and interests, SMM hereby makes the following solemn clarification and statement: I. The Difference Between Spot Prices and Futures Prices is a Normal Reflection of Market Mechanisms According to basic economic principles, spot prices reflect the immediate supply-demand relationship and deliverable transaction conditions of the underlying asset, while futures prices reflect market expectations for future supply and demand, including factors such as capital cost and carrying costs. Both follow the principle of "convergence at maturity," meaning that futures prices gradually converge towards spot prices as the contract expiration date approaches. Therefore, during the life of the contract, the difference between spot prices and futures prices, especially with far-month contracts, is a normal phenomenon under the market pricing mechanism. II. Historical Data Proves the Rationality of the Price Spread Structure To objectively present the facts, SMM has made a price spread analysis chart based on publicly available market data: The chart clearly shows that from September 2023 to 2025, the monthly price spread between the SMM battery-grade lithium carbonate average price and the GFEX lithium carbonate futures contract prices fluctuated between positive and negative territory, always remaining within a reasonable range, and exhibited a significant convergence trend as the contract expiration date approached. This fully aligns with the market rule of futures and spot price convergence. Comparing a certain periods' futures prices (especially those of far-month most-traded contracts) with spot assessment prices and concluding that there is a "consistent significant deviation" is fundamentally flawed in methodology and can easily mislead market judgment. Any behavior that selectively highlights short-term trends in the price spread without considering the broader context is partial and irresponsible, failing to reflect the overall market situation. III. Recent Market Risk Control Measures Recently, to maintain the stable operation of the lithium carbonate futures market and prevent potential risks, the Guangzhou Futures Exchange, in accordance with its risk management rules, issued multiple notifications consecutively between November and December 2025, implementing a series of risk control measures for relevant contracts, including adjustments to transaction fee standards and trading limits. These measures represent the exchange's commitment to fulfill its self-regulatory duties in accordance with the law during specific market periods, aiming to promote the steady development of the market. IV. The Emergence, Nature, and Harm of False Information It is noteworthy that during this sensitive period, when the aforementioned risk control measures were being intensively implemented, a significant amount of false information began circulating on the Internet. While such information varies in content, it shares an identical core narrative: False claims have been made that SMM’s prices "consistently and significantly deviate from fair value and futures prices" and that "there are illegal benefit-related connections with certain institutions". These claims are entirely groundless. The timing and manner of their dissemination indicate that their purpose is not professional discussion but rather an attempt to exert improper pressure on SMM by confusing the price logic of spot and futures markets, interfere with the neutrality of spot price assessments, and consequently potentially mislead market expectations and disrupt the normal relationship between futures and spot prices. SMM hereby solemnly declares that SMM is always committed to price discovery in the spot market, does not participate in any futures market trading operations, and resolutely maintains market order. V. The Compliance, Neutrality, and Supervision Mechanisms of SMM's Price Assessment As a professional market price assessment agency, SMM always adheres to the principles of neutrality, objectivity, and fairness. SMM's price assessment methodology strictly follows the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) "Principles for Financial Benchmarks" and is subject to audits by independent third-party audit firms. In terms of internal governance, SMM has established a comprehensive firewall system to ensure that personnel and management involved in the price assessment process do not hold any related futures or spot positions, thereby eliminating conflicts of interest at an institutional level. SMM also has no history of any penalties from securities regulatory authorities for violations. We consistently maintain an open attitude towards market supervision based on facts. VI. Appeal to the Public SMM strongly condemns the recent malicious fabrication and dissemination of false information in the market, which damages SMM's commercial reputation and attempts to disrupt the order of the futures and spot markets, and has initiated legal proceedings to protect its rights. Currently, SMM is comprehensively and continuously collecting and preserving evidence related to the infringements. For suspected infringing acts, the Company will take all legal measures, including but not limited to reporting to relevant regulatory authorities and filing complaints with relevant online platforms, to resolutely pursue the legal liability of the infringing parties. SMM reserves the right to pursue all legal consequences against the relevant responsible parties. We once again call on all market participants to enhance their legal awareness and professional discernment capabilities, obtain information from authoritative channels, analyze the market rationally, resolutely resist and refuse to spread any unverified and unfounded rumors, and jointly maintain a fair, orderly, and healthy development environment for the industry chain. SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. Dec 26, 2025
Dec 26, 2025 17:30Dear Useres, With the deep reshaping of the new energy industry chain, the strategic position of sulphur, a traditional bulk raw material, is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Historically, price fluctuations in sulphur-sulphuric acid primarily affected traditional industries such as phosphate fertilisers and titanium dioxide. However, as lithium iron phosphate (LFP) has become the mainstream cathode material for power batteries, the production of its core precursor, iron phosphate, heavily relies on high-purity phosphoric acid, which in turn uses sulphuric acid as its raw material. This enables price fluctuations in the sulphur-sulphuric acid chain to be directly and rapidly transmitted to the cost of LFP. Similarly, in areas such as nickel-cobalt smelting and precursor preparation, sulphuric acid is a key auxiliary material, and its price directly impacts the cost of products like battery-grade nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate. The emergence of new demands: Sulphur itself, as a key sulphur source for lithium sulphide and sulphide solid-state electrolytes (such as LPSC), is seeing its material purity and supply stability begin to attract attention from cutting-edge battery technology R&D. As an authoritative information institution long dedicated to the non-ferrous metals and new energy materials sectors, SMM, after a period of consolidation and market surveys, plans to introduce new sulphur price points starting December 12, aiming to provide the market with more precise pricing anchors and price references. The specific new price points are as follows: Sulphur: Solid, Sulphur (S) content ≥99.0%, Price Description: Ex-factory price (buyer's self pick-up price), including 13% VAT. SMM New Energy Research Team December 04, 2025 Sulphur Price
PriceDec 15, 2025 10:18Dear Users, To fully cover price information across all links of the molybdenum industry chain, facilitate upstream and downstream enterprises in grasping market changes, and reduce transaction risks, after thorough market research and industry communication, we hereby decide to add 7 molybdenum industry chain-related price indicators, including molybdenum concentrate (25%-40%), molybdenum oxide (57%) CIF Tianjin Port, waste molybdenum scrap, and waste molybdenum cutting wire. The newly added price indicators are as follows: Molybdenum concentrate 40%-45%: Complies with industry standard YS/T 235-2016, with a molybdenum content of 40%-45%. Unit: RMB/ton-degree (tax-inclusive). Molybdenum Concentrate 35%-40% : Complies with industry standard YS/T 235-2016, with a molybdenum content of 35%-40%. Unit: RMB/ton-degree (tax-inclusive). Molybdenum Concentrate 30%-35%: Complies with industry standard YS/T 235-2016, with a molybdenum content of 30%-35%. Unit: RMB/ton-degree (tax-inclusive). Molybdenum Concentrate 25%-30% : Complies with industry standard YS/T 235-2016, with a molybdenum content of 25%-30%. Unit: RMB/ton-degree (tax-inclusive). Note: The above 4 molybdenum concentrate price indicators are all tax-inclusive. Molybdenum Oxide (57% Mo) CIF Tianjin Port: Complies with national standard YB/T 5129-2012, with Mo ≥ 57%. Unit: USD/pound molybdenum (tax-exclusive). Waste Molybdenum Scrap: Complies with national standard GB/T 27687-2011, with Mo ≥ 99.95%, clean and free of impurities. Unit: RMB/kilogram (tax-exclusive). Waste Molybdenum Cutting Wire: Complies with national standard GB/T 27687-2011, with Mo ≥ 99.95%, clean and free of impurities. Unit: RMB/kilogram (tax-exclusive). Note: The above 3 price indicators are all tax-exclusive. Effective Date: The newly added price indicators will be officially released on December 1, 2025, and updated around 11:30 AM every working day. This addition aims to achieve more refined regional and grade classification. All new price indicators are formulated based on mainstream industry transaction specifications and trade terms, verified through standard sampling and verification processes, and are for market reference only, not constituting trading decision advice. For information on price formation methodology and detailed product specifications, please log on to the official platform. If you have any questions, please contact Li Jiahui from SMM Tungsten & Molybdenum Research Team at +86-21-51666882. SMM Tungsten & Molybdenum Industry Research TeamDecember 5, 2025
PriceDec 5, 2025 13:53To Valued Customers Dear Customers, To fully cover the price information across all links of the tungsten industry chain, accurately reflect the spot market trends of products such as low-grade tungsten concentrate, tungsten products, photovoltaic tungsten wire busbars and tungsten scrap, and help enterprises upstream and downstream of the industrial chain keep abreast of market changes and reduce trading risks, we have decided to add 11 new tungsten industry chain - related price points after conducting sufficient market research and in-depth communication with the industry. The new price points are detailed as follows: Scheelite Concentrate (25%-30% WO₃) : Compliant with the industrial standards applicable in Henan, Guangxi and Hunan regions. It refers to scheelite concentrate with a WO₃ content ranging from 25% to 30%. Unit: RMB per ton-unit of WO₃. Scheelite Concentrate (23%-25% WO₃) : Compliant with the industrial standard YS/T 231 - 2015. It refers to scheelite concentrate with a WO₃ content ranging from 23% to 25%. Unit: RMB per ton-unit of WO₃. Ammonium Metatungstate (AMT) : Compliant with the national standard GB/T 26033 - 2010. Its technical indicators are as follows: WO₃ content ≥ 81.5%, Fe content ≤ 0.0020%, Pb content ≤ 0.0001%, and Si content ≤ 0.0015%. Unit: RMB per ton. Wire-Drawing Tungsten Bar : Compliant with the requirements of the national standard GB/T 3459 - 2022, with a tungsten (W) content ≥ 99.95%. Unit: RMB per kilogram. Steelmaking Tungsten Bar : Compliant with the requirements of the national standard GB/T 3459 - 2022, with a tungsten (W) content ≥ 99.95%. Unit: RMB per kilogram. Cut-Resistant Tungsten Wire for Photovoltaic Applications (24μm - 30μm) : With a tungsten (W) content ≥ 99.95%, a diameter ranging from 24μm to 30μm, and a tensile strength of ≥ 3500MPa. Unit: RMB per kilometer. The above - listed prices are all ex - factory pick - up prices including 13% value - added tax (VAT). Details of the 5 New Tungsten Scrap Price Points Scrap Button Bits : Compliant with the quality requirements for cemented carbide scrap specified in the national standard GB/T 21182 - 2022. Unit: RMB per kilogram. Scrap Anvils : Compliant with the quality requirements for cemented carbide scrap specified in the national standard GB/T 21182 - 2022. Unit: RMB per kilogram. Scrap Roller Rings : Compliant with the quality requirements for cemented carbide scrap specified in the national standard GB/T 21182 - 2022. Unit: RMB per kilogram. Scrap Tungsten Chips/Wires : Compliant with the requirements of the national standard GB/T 26496 - 2011 Tungsten and Tungsten Alloy Scrap . It has a tungsten content ≥ 90% and no other inclusions. Unit: RMB per kilogram. Scrap Tungsten Blocks/Sheets : Compliant with the requirements of the national standard GB/T 26496 - 2011 Tungsten and Tungsten Alloy Scrap . It has a tungsten content ≥ 90% and no other inclusions. Unit: RMB per kilogram. The five tungsten scrap prices mentioned above are all excluding VAT. Effective Date The above - mentioned new price points will be officially released starting from November 21, 2025 and updated on each working day. The launch of these new price points aims to achieve more refined classification by region and grade. All the new price points are formulated based on mainstream industrial trading specifications and terms, which have been verified through a standardized price - data collection process. They are for market reference only and do not constitute trading decision - making advice. For details on the pricing methodology and specific product specifications, please visit our official platform. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Li Jiahui from SMM Tungsten and Molybdenum Analysis at 021 - 51666882.
PriceNov 20, 2025 14:47