[Market Activity Remains Low, Post-Holiday GO Silicon Steel Prices Expected to Remain in the Doldrums] Futures side, HRC futures fluctuated downward this week, exerting some downward pressure on the cost side of silicon steel, with some traders adopting a cautious wait-and-see approach. Demand side, affected by the approaching Chinese New Year holiday, downstream enterprises gradually suspended operations for the holiday, leading to a significant contraction in procurement demand. Market transactions were largely stagnant in the latter part of the week, with only minimal just-in-time procurement sustaining market activity.

SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: LME copper opened at $13,089/mt overnight, with prices initially trending lower to test $13,060/mt, then fluctuating upward to touch a high of $13,160/mt, followed by wide swings before finally settling at $13,100/mt, down 0.64%. Trading volume reached 12,200 lots, and open interest stood at 325,000 lots, down 1,683 lots from the previous session, overall showing a reduction in long positions. The most-traded SHFE copper contract opened at 101,660 yuan/mt overnight, initially fluctuating upward to touch a high of 102,100 yuan/mt, then experiencing wide swings while testing a low of 101,510 yuan/mt, before prices trended higher and finally settled at 101,730 yuan/mt, down 0.13%. Trading volume reached 34,800 lots, and open interest stood at 158,000 lots, down 1,466 lots from the previous session, overall showing a reduction in long positions.

Societe Generale analysts Michael Haigh, Ben Hoff and Jeremy Sellem highlight how Tether’s expanding Gold holdings have become a major force in the Gold market.

The industrialization of solid-state battery anodes follows a clear technological progression, closely linked to the maturity of the electrolyte system: first, compatibility and improvement—silicon-based/composite anodes; second, upgrading and breakthroughs—pre-lithiation/composite lithium metal anodes; and third, the ultimate goal—pure lithium metal anode capacity deployment.

Fujian issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Urban Development," which proposes improving urban infrastructure. Accelerate the construction of metro projects in Fuzhou and Xiamen. Optimize the hierarchical structure of urban road networks, eliminate bottlenecks and choke points, and enhance urban freight networks. Strengthen the construction of parking and charging facilities. Continue to deepen the coverage of 5G, 5G-A, and gigabit optical networks, coordinate the construction of computing infrastructure and IoT sensing facilities, and encourage eligible cities to pilot the development of data infrastructure. Promote the renewal of traditional infrastructure and digital-intelligent transformation, and construct underground utility tunnels based on local conditions. Accelerate the development of a modern water network to enhance flood and disaster prevention, integrated water resource allocation, and urban-rural water supply security. Advance the high-quality development of urban power grids.

[SMM Tin Morning Brief: The most-traded SHFE tin contract opened slightly higher in the night session and maintained rangebound fluctuations, with market transactions expected to gradually become sluggish.]

The project plans to construct a 1.5GWh prismatic LFP battery-based standalone ESS power station, including 300 sets of 5MWh ESS battery containers and 75 sets of 5MW booster integrated cabins.

[Unclear Price Trend, GO Silicon Steel Prices Likely to Remain in the Doldrums Next Week] This week, the cold-rolled grain-oriented silicon steel market generally remained in the doldrums, with a steady market pace and no wild price swings. Overall, it exhibited a trend of "slight softening amid stability and mediocre trading." According to market feedback, HRC futures fluctuated downward this week, rising first before falling. Affected by this, some traders adopted a cautious stance and slightly lowered their quotes to stimulate shipments, though the adjustments were limited. Currently, the overall trading atmosphere in the market is tepid, with end-user procurement pace slowing down. Most downstream buyers replenished stocks based on immediate needs, while speculative demand remained sluggish. Overall trading volume showed no significant improvement compared to last week.

This week (January 30 to February 5, 2026), the scaling of Tesla’s dry electrode process represented a revolutionary breakthrough in manufacturing, while Light-Year Engine’s “launch-to-production” approach marked a bold declaration on the product front. Both point to the core challenges of industrialisation —engineering and cost.

Energy Storage Focus: LFP Batteries Emerge as a Second Marginal Increment to Sulfur Demand