It is reported that in the first quarter of this year, the Southern Power Grid completed fixed asset investment of 38.45 billion yuan, an increase of 49.5% year on year. At the same time, in the first quarter of this year, the bidding and procurement scale of the Southern Power Grid was 78.4 billion yuan, an increase of 25% over the same period last year; The supply of project materials was 21.2 billion yuan, an increase of 43% over the same period last year; Payment of goods and materials should be made in full, and a total of 16.8 billion yuan has been paid for various types of goods and materials, an increase of 41% over the same period last year.

In Q1 this year, China Southern Power Grid's west-to-east power transmission delivered a cumulative 41.5 billion kWh of electricity, 4.7 billion kWh above plan, up 13.3% YoY, setting a record high for the same period in history. Of this, non-fossil energy accounted for 81% of the electricity transmitted.

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.

[How Should Zinc Consumption Be Viewed Against the Backdrop of Geopolitical Conflicts?] Q1 2026 had passed, and the overall recovery in post-holiday consumption was somewhat delayed. How would consumption perform going forward?

【SMM Steel】Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe is pushing the EC for immediate trade protection to defend its grain-oriented electrical steel production. Cheap Asian imports have tripled since 2022 and soared 50% in 2025. Thyssenkrupp extended production cuts at two facilities. GO steel is essential for power grids but avoids existing quota cuts. The steelmaker warns 1,200 jobs and Europe's tech lead are at risk without a level playing field. Quick intervention is needed.

[China’s Aluminum Ingot Inventory Continues to Build Up, Aluminum Prices Remain in a High-Level Consolidation Pattern ]Overall, the geopolitical situation in the Middle East remained the core factor affecting the global aluminum market. A series of production cuts and damage incidents at Middle Eastern aluminum plants is expected to provide strong upward momentum for aluminum prices in and outside China, coupled with support from expectations of a gradual release of peak-season demand in China. In the short term, aluminum prices are expected to remain in a high-level consolidation pattern.

[SMM Tin Morning Brief: The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Saw Small Fluctuations and Pulled Back in the Night Session, While Downstream Enterprises Mostly Adopted a Purchasing-as-Needed Strategy]

SK Innovation E&S has completed and begun operations of the largest energy storage system (ESS) facility in New York State. According to industry sources on the 31st, its subsidiary KCE launched the KCE NY 6 battery storage facility located on Electric Avenue in Blasdell, Erie County. The project, with a capacity of 20MW (45.6MWh), is the largest single ESS site constructed in New York at the time of its commissioning and is directly connected to the local power grid.

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.....

According to Polaris Power Network, on March 27, China Southern Power Grid launched the first batch of tenders for information technology projects in 2026. A total of 5 lots and 24 packages were involved, including 15 system construction projects, 2 special research projects, 5 business support projects, and 2 equipment procurement projects.