This week (March 27-April 2), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises was 69.95, down 0.81 percentage points MoM and down 11.11 percentage points YoY, with overall operations remaining stable. During the week, copper prices moved sideways, while end-users remained bearish. Downstream enterprises showed a strong wait-and-see sentiment in procurement, and new orders were weak. However, as existing orders from the previous period still supported normal production schedules, the operating rate declined only slightly. By segment, SMM learned that order placement in the power grid sector has been relatively weak recently, while orders in the NEV and optical fiber sectors performed well, and construction engineering-related orders remained far from optimistic. Inventory side, raw material inventory was still mainly consumed this week, so raw material inventory fell 2.84% MoM. As for finished product inventories, driven by the gradual pick-up of previous orders, inventory fell 3.31% MoM. Looking ahead to next week, continued fluctuations in copper prices are expected to keep suppressing end-user purchase willingness, and the operating rate is expected to continue to pull back, though downside room will be limited as orders on hand still support production schedules. SMM expects the operating rate of copper wire and cable next week (April 3-April 9) to fall 0.67 percentage points MoM to 69.29, down 15.58 percentage points YoY.

[SMM Copper Wire and Cable Weekly Inventory] On weekly copper wire and cable inventory, raw material inventory still mainly declined on consumption this week, so raw material inventory fell 2.84% MoM. As for finished product inventories, with downstream enterprises gradually picking up goods, finished product inventories fell 3.31% MoM.

[SMM Copper Wire and Cable Weekly Operating Rate] This week, the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises was 69.95, down 0.81 percentage points MoM. Overall operating performance was stable this week. During the week, copper prices hovered at highs, exacerbating wait-and-see sentiment among downstream enterprises, while new orders remained weak. Enterprises still relied on ample orders on hand to keep production basically stable. By segment, the power sector remained the core support, with orders in NEV and optical fiber performing well, while engineering and construction orders were still hardly optimistic. The operating rate of copper wire and cable enterprises is expected to fall 0.67 percentage points MoM to 69.29 next week

Interconnect Malta (ICM) has launched a Preliminary Market Consultation (PMC) to assess the feasibility of importing 0.8 TWh of renewable energy annually from North Africa. The proposed project involves a subsea power link designed to supply approximately 25% of Malta’s total electricity demand based on 2025 figures. The government is seeking market interest and non-binding price estimates under a 25-year fixed-price Contract for Difference (CfD) mechanism, aiming to leverage North Africa’s solar and wind potential to bolster national energy resilience and carbon reduction goals.

In Q1 2026, China’s aluminum semis exports showed a pronounced pattern of product-category divergence amid the interplay of three factors: the long-term impact of the cancellation of export tax rebates in December 2024, the divergence in demand structures outside China, and the sudden outbreak of geopolitical conflict in the Strait of Hormuz.....

[SMM Copper Wire and Cable Operating Rate Flash] According to SMM, the operating rate of China’s major copper wire and cable enterprises was 71.99% in March, up 16.18 percentage points MoM and down 1.61 percentage points YoY. Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 77.48%, that of medium-sized enterprises was 49.73%, and that of small enterprises was 47.26%. The operating rate is expected to rise 0.64 percentage points MoM to 72.63% in April.

Recycling Industry Events This Week (December. 29-31)

In March, China’s composite PMI for aluminum processing registered 65.6%, rebounding strongly above the 50 mark.

[SMM Analysis] Steel Export Review: Geopolitical Conflicts Trigger the Reshaping of the Export Landscape In terms of steel billet exports , the main target market in the first two months remained Indonesia. Part of the cargoes was imported by Chinese-funded or joint-venture rolling mills in Indonesia for further processing and use, thereby avoiding Southeast Asia’s import tariffs on finished steel products, while another part was supplied directly to local projects under construction. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America formed a solid base of exports. In particular, on the African side, Djibouti, as a core transshipment hub, had been handling a large volume of circulating resources. Turkey, meanwhile, saw a wave of concentrated external purchases due to delays in steel scrap vessel schedules and spot-futures price spread arbitrage. In terms of bar exports , the share to Hong Kong, China declined somewhat from the end of last year, while exports to Singapore overtook it. The main reason was that procurement in Singapore was rigidly driven by local public housing renewal and public infrastructure projects, such as the Greater Southern Waterfront, according to construction periods, with actual end-user consumption remaining relatively stable; whereas Hong Kong, China, as a capital and logistics transshipment hub, saw some earlier speculative re-export orders constrained by offshore exchange-rate fluctuations at the beginning of the year and funding borrowing costs. Traders proactively reduced some speculative exposure for financial risk hedging purposes, which led to a decline in transshipment procurement volume. Looking ahead to March , with the full blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s semi-finished products export channels were effectively cut off. Chinese steel billet is expected to absorb these additional export orders arising from geopolitical conflict, and traders and steel mills will also accelerate shipments to markets outside China such as Southeast Asia to gain a larger replacement share. Therefore, total steel billet exports still have room to rise. By contrast, Chinese bar exports mainly rely on short-haul regional shipping routes into the inland areas within Asia, and were subject to extremely limited direct impact from the disruption of long-haul Middle East logistics. Therefore, March shipments are expected to remain stable, supported by rigid-demand restocking within the region. Source: SMM, General Administration of Customs Unlike the strong performance of billets, sheets & plates exports in the first two months were unsatisfactory. The cumulative exports of both cold galvanized and hot-rolled products in January and February declined YoY , with the drop in hot-rolled products being more pronounced. However, it should be noted that before the full suspension of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz at the end of February, logistics channels to the Middle East remained open, which secured a critical delivery window for sheets & plates. Therefore, in terms of HRC exports , Saudi Arabia still firmly ranked first among export destinations with a volume of 348,000 mt , mainly because its large-scale non-oil infrastructure and manufacturing projects in China were still in an intensive construction phase, with strong end-user steel demand, which also prompted local buyers to lock in relatively lower-priced Chinese HRC ahead of shipping disruptions, thereby maintaining its leading position. Pakistan (230,000 mt ), by contrast, saw this mainly due to bottlenecks in domestic supply, creating phased concentrated restocking demand, and according to the SMM survey, most purchases were made by downstream pipe factories. From the perspective of cold galvanized exports , the Southeast Asian market was currently in a stage of rapid development, and macroeconomic expansion had created a huge gap in flat steel products. Thailand in particular (304,000 mt ) was in a concentrated raw material stocking cycle for local downstream auto manufacturers at the beginning of this year, so just-in-time procurement by multiple physical manufacturers directly pushed up local imports. Looking ahead to March , under the dual impact of the Strait of Hormuz blockade and the Ramadan effect, sheets & plates exports to the Middle East core region are expected to face a sharp contraction. SMM shipping data showed that steel arrivals had already declined by more than 900,000 mt. However, under the pressure of elevated destocking in China, this portion of blocked exports is expected to be redirected to Southeast Asia and other alternative markets with “rigid manufacturing demand” for redistribution, thereby offsetting shipment reductions caused by localized logistics disruptions. Therefore, there is no need for excessive concern over total sheets & plates exports in March Source: SMM, General Administration of Customs 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. 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1. Procurement Conditions The purchaser of this procurement project, Pangang Vanadium April 2026 Gansu PCI Semi Coke (PGWZMYHHD260327277329), is the Fuel Division of Pangang Group Materials Trading Co., Ltd. The funds for the procurement project were self-raised. The project had met the procurement conditions, and a public single-round negotiation was now conducted. 2. Project Overview and Procurement Scope 2.1 Project Name: Pangang Vanadium April 2026 Gansu PCI Semi Coke 2.2 Alternative Procurement Method in Case of Procurement Failure: Direct procurement 2.3 For the content, scope, and scale of this project procurement, please refer to the attachment "Material List Attachment.pdf" for details. 3. Bidder Qualification Requirements 3.1 Consortium bidding was not allowed in this procurement. 3.2 This procurement required bidders to have the following qualification requirements: (1) Trading business license (2) Manufacturing business license 3.3 This procurement required bidders to meet the following registered capital requirements: Manufacturing registered capital: 5 million yuan and above Trading registered capital: 5 million yuan and above 3.4 This procurement required bidders to have the following performance requirements: Bidders were required to provide similar project performance from January 1, 2023 to the bid submission deadline (copies of contracts must be provided), as well as scanned copies of VAT invoices for the relevant performance. 3.5 This procurement required bidders to have the following capability requirements, financial requirements, and other requirements: Financial requirements: The registered capital of the bidder for this project shall not be less than 5 million yuan, and multiple awards were allowed for this project. The registered capital of bidders that are manufacturing suppliers or trading suppliers shall not be less than 30% of the amount (excluding tax) of the section or bid quantity amount for which they bid; Capability requirements: See the attachment for details (if applicable) Other requirements: (1) Scanned copy of the business license (or duplicate); (2) Scanned copy of the tax registration certificate (or duplicate) (except where the three certificates have been combined into one); (3) Scanned copy of the organization code certificate (or duplicate) (except where the three certificates have been combined into one). (4) New suppliers (those that did not provide a copy of a Pangang contract within the past 6 months under the performance requirements were deemed new suppliers) were required to provide, at the time of bidding, a sample review qualification report issued by Pangang's technical quality department or another state-owned detection entity, valid for three months and dated no earlier than the date of publication of the tender announcement. 3.6 For projects that were legally required to undergo tender, bids submitted by dishonest persons subject to enforcement were invalid. 4. Access to the Procurement Documents 4.1 Any bidder intending to participate was requested to log in to the Angang Intelligent Tender and Bidding Platform at http://bid.ansteel.cn from 13:45 on March 28, 2026 to 13:45 on March 30, 2026 (Beijing time, the same hereinafter) to download the electronic procurement documents. Click to View Tender Details: