[Magnesium Ingot Transactions Increased Significantly, Rigid Demand Support Became More Evident, and a One-Way Market Was Unlikely in the Short Term] Today, quotations in the main production areas for 99.90% magnesium ingot were 16,600-16,700 yuan / mt, and low-priced supply in the market increased.

[SMM Tin Midday Review: The Center of the Most-Traded Contract Rebounded Slightly, and Market Transactions Weakened After Downstream Enterprises Restocked]

[SMM North China Copper Cathode Spot Market] After the contract rollover, downstream buyers picked up goods under long-term contracts. Coupled with the recent improvement in northern demand, spot supply in the market was slightly tight, giving suppliers confidence to hold prices firm.

[SMM Daily Review: Weak End-User Demand and Fear of High Prices Weighed on the Market, with High-Grade NPI Prices Under Pressure in the Short Term] March 17 News: SMM's upstream sentiment indicator for high-grade NPI was 2.85, down 0.04 MoM, while the downstream sentiment indicator for high-grade NPI was 1.6, down 0.03 MoM.

SMM Steel, February 24 – According to SMM statistics, the estimated total shipments to mainstream markets this week reached 302,700 mt, up 50.90% WoW. By market:

[SMM Aluminum Alloy Daily Review] Futures side, the most-traded aluminum alloy 2604 contract opened at 23,710 yuan/mt in the morning session and then quickly climbed, once touching an intraday high of 23,945 yuan/mt. Bulls then lost momentum, and prices pulled back step by step. In the afternoon, it fluctuated rangebound, and late in the session it fell further to an intraday low of 23,575 yuan/mt, finally closing at 23,725 yuan/mt, up slightly 0.17% from the previous trading day. Spot side, the ADC12 market was largely stable overall today, with a few enterprises raising quotes slightly. Supported by a modest strengthening in aluminum scrap prices, cost support for some enterprises improved somewhat, but due to limited fluctuations in aluminum prices and generally weak downstream demand,

[SMM Rare Earth Prices] Affected by market sentiment, mainstream rare earth prices in China fell across the board. As of now, Pr-Nd oxide was quoted at 735,000-755,000 yuan/mt, down 48,500 yuan/mt from Monday; Pr-Nd alloy was quoted at 930,000-950,000 yuan/mt, down 35,000 yuan/mt from Monday; dysprosium-iron alloy was quoted at 1.36-1.37 million yuan/mt, down 10,000 yuan/mt from Monday; terbium metal was quoted at 7,700-7,720 yuan/kg, down 65 yuan/kg from Monday.

In Q1 2026, China’s spot silver ingot market underwent a marked shift from extreme frenzy to a rational return. As investment enthusiasm cooled significantly and large volumes of imported silver ingots flowed in, the structure of spot premiums underwent a fundamental adjustment, while the market’s supply-demand pattern continued to be reshaped.

The following table shows the ferrous and nonferrous metals movement on the SHFE and DCE on 17 Mar , 2026

SMM, March 17: The SHFE aluminum 04 contract opened higher and extended gains today, with strong bullish sentiment in the market. Sellers held prices firm, buyers showed greater price acceptance, and purchasing enthusiasm also increased. Today, mainstream quotations and transaction prices in the market were concentrated at -10 yuan/mt to +10 yuan/mt. Today, the east China market shipment sentiment index was 3.12, down 0.05 MoM; the purchasing sentiment index was 2.7, up 0.04 MoM. Today, futures prices opened lower and moved higher. Before the opening, quotations in the central China market were relatively high, mainly at discounts of 320-330 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum 04 contract, then prices gradually declined. Traders maintained strong bullish sentiment and high enthusiasm for purchase, with overall trading volume relatively large. As suppliers basically finished shipments, circulating spot availability became tight, and market quotations continued to rise, but the transaction scale was relatively small. In the end, the actual transaction price range in the central China market was around 10 yuan below the central China price to 40 yuan above the central China price. Today, the central China market shipment sentiment index was 2.6, down 0.02 MoM; the purchasing sentiment index was 2.38, up 0.02 MoM. Inventory side, aluminum ingot inventory in major consumption regions increased by 4,000 mt MoM today, with the inventory buildup mainly coming from Guangdong and Gongyi. In the short term, after the Chinese New Year, aluminum ingot inventory has continued its seasonal buildup. Affected by bullish market sentiment, premiums are expected to maintain a narrowing trend.