[Lead-Acid Battery End-Use Market Updates] Recently, the China Government Procurement Network and the China Government Service Purchasing Information Platform released the "Supplementary Procurement Announcement for UPS Batteries for Building 1 of the East China Cloud Computing Base." The announcement stated that a tender was launched for the supplementary procurement and installation of UPS batteries for Building 1 of the East China Cloud Computing Base, requiring the parallel addition of 1–2 battery sets based on the existing UPS battery system, with a project budget of 1 million yuan.

Today, spot #1 copper cathode in North China was quoted at a discount of 40 yuan/mt to a premium of 40 yuan/mt against the front-month contract, with the average premium/discount at parity, up 60 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average transaction price was 95,645 yuan/mt, down 3,375 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Affected by multiple factors, mainstream rare earth prices in China fell across the board. As of now, Pr-Nd oxide was quoted at 690,000-700,000 yuan/mt, and Pr-Nd alloy at 890,000-910,000 yuan/mt, down 90,000 yuan/mt from Monday.

Vientiane recently marked a major milestone in China-Laos green industrial cooperation—Krittaphong Group Co., Ltd. and CGN Energy Technology (Laos) Co., Ltd., together with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Laos and Oudomxay Province, officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Oudomxay AI Green Electricity Eco-Aluminum Industrial Park Project. Tang Danzhong, Deputy General Manager of Guangxi Investment Group, and Lin Rui, Chairman of Electricite du Laos Transmission Company Limited (EDL-T), attended the signing ceremony as witnesses, fully demonstrating all parties’ firm confidence in and full support for the project’s smooth implementation. The project will center on 500,000 mt of aluminum capacity, alongside the supporting development of a 2 million kW clean energy base, and is expected to join hands with Guangxi Investment Group, a core industrial investor, to build a complete eco-industrial base for the entire aluminum industry chain.

China’s silver prices weakened this week, and the price spread between SGE TD prices and the SHFE April contract continued to narrow sharply. Imported silver ingots kept flowing into the market, but spot transactions turned noticeably sluggish in late March, with suppliers continuously lowering spot premiums to sell off inventory. As orders for PV silver powder and silver paste declined, silver nitrate enterprises generally said that after current order deliveries are completed, renewals of new orders will decrease, so raw material silver ingot procurement volume generally fell this week. As both silver prices and spot premiums showed signs of weakening, silver nitrate and other downstream enterprises mostly stayed cautious amid fears of further declines, negotiating for rigid-demand purchases and only buying the dip. As of Thursday, tradable quotes for Shanghai market standard silver ingots against TD premiums had been cut to below 100 yuan/kg. In Shenzhen, non-registered-brand silver ingots were occasionally quoted at parity or even at slight discounts for sale, but suppliers of standard silver ingots still mostly held prices firm and were reluctant to sell. After spot trading turned sluggish, the spot silver ingot market may see suppliers shift inventory and ship to delivery warehouses, and SGE or SHFE inventory is expected to post a slight buildup going forward. Inventory side, silver ingot inventory in Shenzhen posted a slight buildup this week, while inventories in some Shanghai warehouses did not increase significantly. Import profits for silver ingots narrowed sharply this week, and some smelters gradually began to fulfill export permits in late March, reducing domestic supply. Despite softer downstream consumption, silver ingot social inventory did not show a continued buildup trend this week.

[SMM North China Copper Cathode Spot Market] As copper prices fell, downstream consumption in the North China copper cathode market improved recently, spot supply remained relatively tight, suppliers' sentiment to hold prices firm strengthened, and the average spot premiums rose to around parity.

The latest data from the General Administration of Customs showed that in February 2026, China exported 4.63 million mt of steel sheets & plates, down 12.6% YoY; cumulative exports for January and February totaled 9.33 million mt, down 14.5% YoY. In February, China exported 1.19 million mt of steel bars, down 7.7% YoY; cumulative exports for January and February totaled 2.32 million mt, down 5.9% YoY.

SMM News, March 19: Today, in Guangdong, spot prices for #1 copper cathode against the front-month contract were quoted at premiums of 140 yuan/mt for high-quality copper, up 90 yuan/mt from yesterday; premiums of 20 yuan/mt for standard-quality copper, up 80 yuan/mt from yesterday; and discounts of 40 yuan/mt for SX-EW copper, up 80 yuan/mt from yesterday. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 95,735 yuan/mt, down 3,400 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 95,615 yuan/mt, up 3,405 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot market: Guangdong inventory declined for three consecutive days, mainly due to reduced arrivals and increased shipments. Copper prices fell sharply, and downstream processing enterprises actively placed orders. Suppliers adjusted prices accordingly. In early trading, standard-quality copper was quoted at a discount of 20 yuan/mt, but due to very strong transactions, it was later adjusted to a premium of 20 yuan/mt. Today, procurement sentiment for copper cathode in Guangdong stood at 2.65, up 0.06 from the previous trading day, while shipments sentiment stood at 3.43, up 0.05 from the previous trading day (historical data is available in the database). Overall, as copper prices fell sharply, downstream buyers actively restocked, driving spot premiums significantly higher.

According to the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association, in early March, production by key monitored coal enterprises reached 64.44 million mt, with daily average production of 6.44 million mt. The 10-day daily average increased by 380,000 mt, up 6.3% MoM from late February, and by 90,000 mt, up 1.4% YoY.

Spot #1 copper cathode prices in North China were quoted at an average discount of 60 yuan/mt against the front-month contract today, unchanged from the previous trading day. The average transaction price was 99,020 yuan/mt, down 1,240 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.