[SMM Silicon-Based PV Morning Meeting Summary] Silicon metal: SMM oxygen-blown #553 silicon in east China was at 9,100-9,200 yuan/mt yesterday, and #441 silicon was at 9,300-9,400 yuan/mt. The most-traded futures contract hovered around 8,500 yuan/mt. Silicon metal prices continued to move sideways in a narrow range. In recent days, the market has seen no new news disruptions, leading to a stalemate in price changes. Increasing supply put prices under pressure in the short term. Wafer: Market prices for 18X wafers were 0.86-0.9 yuan/piece, 210RN wafers were 0.96-1.00 yuan/piece, and 210N wafers were 1.16-1.2 yuan/piece. Smaller factories have already begun to see transactions at lower prices. 18X wafers are under the most severe pressure, and the high end of the overall price range is trending further downward.

This week, the copper scrap market operated under the interweaving influences of fluctuating copper prices, the approaching Dragon Boat Festival holiday, and ongoing compliance inspections on "reverse invoicing," presenting structural characteristics of "regional divergence in supply, essential demand-driven procurement, and transactions driven by invoices rather than prices

SMM June 18 news: The most-traded SHFE lead 2607 contract opened at 16,450 yuan/mt intraday, fluctuated downward from the early session to the mid-session, hitting a low of 16,350 yuan/mt. It later recovered some losses and rebounded to move sideways in the 16,370-16,405 yuan/mt range, finally closing at 16,400 yuan/mt, recording a small bearish candlestick, down 70 yuan/mt or 0.43%. The last trading day before the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, compounded by disturbances from mid-year financial closing, led many enterprises to suspend shipments and settlements, with a strong wait-and-see sentiment prevailing in the market. Supply side, secondary lead smelters under maintenance were cutting or stopping production due to weak market conditions and raw material issues, while primary lead smelters faced tight ore supply. Some smelters saw production decline this week. As delivery-related matters gradually settled, the expected increase in lead ingot inventory after the holiday was weak. Overall, the trend of lead prices awaits tracking of actual production resumptions and operations. Data source statement: Except for public information, other data are based on public information, market communication, and SMM's internal database models, processed by SMM, and are for reference only, not constituting investment advice.

Time flies as the midpoint of 2026 approaches. The zinc concentrate market has witnessed another extraordinary price cycle this year. As of June 12, domestic zinc concentrate treatment charges (TCs) plunged to -50 yuan per metric ton of zinc metal, marking the arrival of negative TCs. Meanwhile, TCs for imported zinc concentrate tumbled to -71.2 US dollars per dry metric ton, both hitting all-time record lows.

[SMM Analysis] Stainless Steel Off-Season Demand Combined with Macro Turbulence: Prices and Costs Pulled Back in Tandem, Narrowing Steel Mill Profits This week, stainless steel prices and production costs pulled back in tandem, slightly narrowing steel mill profit margins. Using 304 cold-rolled coil as the calculation benchmark, the profit margin based on current raw material costs was 2.23%, while the profit margin based on inventory raw material costs was 1.31%. On the nickel-based raw material cost side, high-grade NPI prices continued to pull back this week. Dragged down by the decline in SHFE nickel prices during the week, coupled with the heightened cost advantage of stainless steel scrap, expected production schedules at stainless steel mills dropped, reinforcing a strong desire to bargain down prices. High-priced transactions encountered resistance, keeping high-grade NPI prices in the doldrums. As of this Friday, mainstream 10%-12% grade high-grade NPI rose by 0.5 yuan per nickel unit, closing at 1,144 yuan per nickel unit. In the stainless steel scrap market, prices remained largely stable this week. The pullback in high-grade NPI prices caused the raw material side to weaken, making it difficult to drive prices upward. However, a rebound in stainless steel futures and limited declines in finished product spot prices provided a counterbalancing force that supported prices. The industry has now entered the off-season for consumption, with steel mill production schedules and profits both sliding. Combined with rising uncertainty in the macro environment, bearish risks are gradually accumulating, and prices are expected to face downward pressure going forward. As of this Friday, mainstream 304 off-cuts in the Shanghai region gained 100 yuan/mt, with the latest quotation at approximately 10,450 yuan/mt. On the chrome-based raw material cost side, high-carbon ferrochrome prices edged down this week. Chrome ore port inventories remained at historically high levels, and prices gradually pulled back, weakening the cost support for high-carbon ferrochrome. Additionally, ferrochrome producers still had profit margins at present, and production declines……

According to ADEFA, Argentina produced 37,762 vehicles in May 2026, slightly up from 37,521 units in April. Despite the month-on-month stability, production fell by 21.5% compared to May 2025. During the first five months of 2026, total production declined by 19.3% year-on-year to 167,629 units. Exports and domestic sales also slumped by 4.2% and 39% respectively in May year-on-year. While the short-term stabilization suggests a potential bottoming out, the broader year-on-year contraction indicates an ongoing industry adjustment driven by localized supply renewal, signaling weak near-term demand for automotive steel.

[SMM Magnesium Market Analysis: Cost Support Struggles Against Weak Demand, Magnesium Market Consolidates at Lows in the Short Term, Upcoming Maintenance May Provide Periodic Price Support] In May 2026, magnesium prices moved sideways within a price range of 16,300-16,700 yuan/mt.

According to the latest data from industry sources, Household air conditioners: In April 2026, household air conditioner production and sales declined YoY, with the industry overall trending weak and both domestic sales and exports falling. In the Chinese market, four key factors constrained performance: a high base effect compounded by reduced subsidy intensity for trade-in programs diminishing policy benefits; a sluggish property market with insufficient new supporting demand; unfavorable weather delaying the peak sales season; and high costs coupled with high inventory levels further suppressing domestic sales performance.

Chile is the world's largest copper-producing country. Data released on Friday by Chile's National Bureau of Statistics (INE) showed that the country's copper production in April declined 13.8% YoY.According to official data, Chile's copper production in April was 399,954 mt, compared with 464,056 mt in the same period last year. The production decline was mainly attributable to a high base in the same period last year and lower ore grades at major miners.In addition, metal products production fell 15.4% YoY, further dragging down the overall performance of the manufacturing sector.

Codelco, one of the world's largest copper producers, released its earnings report on Friday. Benefiting from stronger copper prices, the company's pre-tax profit reached $825 million in Q1 2026, nearly tripling compared to the same period last year when it stood at $213 million. Codelco stated that the company's total copper production from January to March was 272,000 mt, down 8% compared to the same period last year.Codelco reported its Q1 2026 results. Market conditions for copper and various by-products improved during the quarter, but the company's own production declined.From January to March, the company's own copper mine production reached 272,000 mt of concentrates, down 8.1% compared to the same period in 2025.