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.....

On March 20, China Rare Earth Resources and Technology Co., Ltd. (600259.SH) issued an announcement stating that the company recorded operating revenue of 5.82 billion yuan in 2025, down 53.80% YoY; net profit attributable to shareholders of the publicly listed firm was 127 million yuan, turning from loss to profit YoY, compared with a net loss of 299 million yuan in the same period of the previous year; net profit attributable to the parent after deducting non-recurring gains and losses was 159 million yuan, improving significantly YoY.

Leading rare earth permanent magnet producer Zhong Ke San Huan (000970.SZ) released its 2025 annual report, posting full-year operating revenue of 6.641 billion yuan and net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent of 91.3186 million yuan, up 660.50% YoY; net profit excluding non-recurring gains and losses was 60.6065 million yuan, up 451.03% YoY. The sharp growth in performance was mainly attributable to cost reduction and efficiency improvement, increased foreign exchange gains, and a substantial decline in asset impairment losses. During the reporting period, the share of revenue from the Chinese market rose to 50.55%, and the company completed 100% concentrated procurement of rare earth raw materials.

Beijing had taken the lead nationwide in launching the development and application of commercial insurance products for intelligent connected NEVs. The new products largely follow the existing commercial auto insurance framework for NEVs and, under the principle of “overall stability with partial optimization,” mainly provide risk protection for specific intelligent driving scenarios and software and hardware losses of concern to consumers and automakers, and can be uniformly adapted to intelligent connected NEVs at all levels from L2 to L4.

[SMM Daily Chrome Review: The Ferrochrome Market Remained Stable, and Ore-Side Prices Saw No Adjustment for the Time Being] News on March 31, 2026: Fluctuations in the ferrochrome and chrome ore markets were limited...

[SMM Lead Morning Meeting Summary: Macro Factors and Fundamentals Present Both Bullish and Bearish Signals, and Lead Prices May Continue to Consolidate in the Short Term] Fed Chairman Powell released dovish signals, and the market once again bet on the possibility of an interest rate cut within the year. Recently, production at primary lead and secondary lead smelters has resumed, supply has been relatively ample, and imported lead has continued to flow into China...

[SMM Cast Aluminum Alloy Morning Comment: In March, the Secondary Aluminum Industry PMI Rebounded Sharply Into Expansion Territory, and Downward Pressure Remained in April] Overnight, the aluminum alloy 2605 contract price first fell and then rose, showing an overall fluctuating upward trend. After the opening, the price quickly dipped to an intraday low of 23,320 yuan/mt, then gradually stabilized and rebounded, fluctuating upward to a high of 23,610 yuan/mt. It pulled back slightly late in the session and finally closed at 23,585 yuan/mt, down 45 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, a decline of 0.19%.

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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DKEM (300842.SZ) reported attributable net profit of -276 million yuan in 2025, down 176.80% YoY, mainly due to fluctuations in raw material silver powder prices and the impact of non-recurring gains and losses. The company recorded operating revenue of 18.046 billion yuan, up 17.56% YoY; net profit excluding non-recurring items was 163 million yuan, down 62.78% YoY. The board of directors proposed not to distribute cash dividends. Operationally, full-year sales of PV conductive paste were 1,829.16 mt, down 10.23% YoY, of which N-type TOPCon battery paste accounted for 95.72%. The company will continue to increase R&D in N-type battery paste technology to consolidate its industry-leading position.