[SMM Analysis] On March 12, 2026, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled against imposing tariffs on Chinese graphite imports. Below is the complete timeline of the US anti-dumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) investigations into active anode material (graphite anode) from China, the duty rates at each stage, and the latest results as of March 12, 2026.

[SMM Platinum and Palladium Weekly Review] This week (February 9 – February 13), the most-traded platinum contract PT2606 opened at 540 yuan/gram and closed at 523.8 yuan/gram, up 30.9 yuan/gram or 6.27% WoW. The weekly highest price was 559.1 yuan/gram, and the lowest was 516 yuan/gram. The most-traded palladium contract PD2606 opened at 436.5 yuan/gram and closed at 416.8 yuan/gram, up 9.55 yuan/gram or 2.34% WoW. The weekly highest price was 443 yuan/gram, and the lowest was 411 yuan/gram. In futures trading, the most-traded platinum contract PT2606 recorded a total weekly trading volume of 36,713 lots, a total turnover of 19.82 billion yuan, and an open interest of 20,073 lots, a decrease of 1,369 lots WoW. The most-traded palladium contract PD2606 recorded a total weekly trading volume of 18,112 lots, a total turnover of 7.801 billion yuan, and an open interest of 7,188 lots, a decrease of 874 lots WoW. Recent fluctuations in platinum and palladium primarily reflected sentiment transmission from the precious metals sector, with significant resonance among gold, silver, platinum, and palladium amid macro factors. The nomination of Wash as Fed Chairman in early February triggered a sharp pullback in the precious metals sector. His hawkish anti-inflation stance, advocating for "interest rate cuts + balance sheet reduction + function reduction," combined with stronger-than-expected US PPI, raised market concerns about medium and long-term support for precious metals. Expectations of balance sheet reduction may boost the US dollar, disrupt precious metals pricing logic, and lead to frequent sector corrections. Domestic and overseas platinum and palladium term structures diverged; after the price drop, strong restocking by domestic automotive catalyst producers steepened the domestic term structure slope. Strategically, Trump plans to launch a $12 billion "Gold Reserve Plan" to build a strategic reserve of critical minerals and a preferential trade zone, intending to set price floors and use tariffs and other border measures for protection, aiming to establish a rule system with internal subsidies and external barriers, excluding non-member countries from core supply chain benefits. USGS data showed the US import dependency for platinum and palladium reached 89% and 57%, respectively, in 2025, with strategic reserve premiums bullish for platinum and palladium. Additionally, attention is needed on details of new managers announced by the LME and US anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations on Russian unwrought palladium. In the spot market, the approaching Chinese New Year holiday atmosphere intensified. Along with cooling investment enthusiasm in precious metals recently, aside from some end-users' rigid pre-holiday stockpiling needs, the overall spot market showed thin trading.

[SMM Analysis: Issuance of Energy Consumption Control Documents? Withdrawal of US Anti-dumping Duties? Interpretation of Photovoltaic News on October 23] In the afternoon of October 23, several major news in the photovoltaic market suddenly spread widely, including but not limited to "It is rumored that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will issue policies to restrict energy consumption in the photovoltaic industry next month, such as limiting the energy consumption per kilogram of silicon material production to no more than 50 kWh." "The U.S. Department of Commerce plans to partially withdraw anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese photovoltaic cells" "Relevant departments will issue documents in November to restrict the capacity utilization rate of various links in the photovoltaic industry", etc.

According to SMM statistics, China's stainless steel imports in August 2024 were 106,800 mt, down 14.72% MoM and 44.65% YoY.

According to SMM statistics, China's PV module production in May was approximately 52.8GW, down 2.3GW from the previous month, a decrease of 4.2% MoM; compared to the same period last year, the increase reached 25.6%.

According to the SMM survey, from May to June, some PV module companies chose to reduce or even halt production due to falling prices, inventory pressure, and price competition. Although there was a growth trend in domestic and overseas market demand during April and May, the growth rate was relatively slow. Module manufacturers faced unstable orders, poor visibility, and increasing inventories, coupled with frequent changes in overseas policies, leading them to adjust production schedules to minimize losses.

SMM data showed that China's copper cathode output in May was 1.0086 million mt, up 23,500 mt or 2.39% MoM, and up 5.19% YoY, exceeding the expected 977,100 mt by 31,500 mt.

On March 1, the US Department of Commerce issued an announcement to make an affirmative preliminary anti-subsidy ruling on aluminum lithographic printing plates imported from China.