On April 4, the megawatt (MW)-class hydrogen-fuelled aviation turboprop engine AEP100, independently developed by AECC Academy of Aero-Engine Research, was installed on a 7.5 mt-class unmanned transport aircraft and successfully completed its maiden flight at Zhuzhou Lusong Airport. This marked the world's first flight test of a megawatt-class hydrogen-fuelled aviation turboprop engine, signifying a breakthrough in the development of green aviation propulsion in China. The maiden flight proceeded smoothly throughout, with the engine operating normally and in good condition. The flight lasted a total of 16 minutes in the air, covering a distance of 36 kilometres at a speed of 220 kilometres per hour and an altitude of 300 metres above ground. The aircraft returned safely after successfully completing all scheduled flight test objectives, and the maiden flight mission was a complete success. The successful maiden flight was of great significance. It not only achieved a leap from technology to engineering in China's independent development of megawatt-class hydrogen-fuelled aviation engines, but also signified that China had established the full technology chain in this field, from core components to complete engine integration. It verified the engineering reliability of the hydrogen fuel propulsion system's compatibility with the flight platform, laying a critical foundation for the subsequent industrialisation of hydrogen-powered aviation applications. This became an important milestone in China's transition of green aviation propulsion from technological exploration to engineering practice.

Recently, the Guyang-Baiyin'ebo Gas Transmission Pipeline Project's Guyang First Station and valve chamber, constructed by Shaanxi Construction & Installation Group, successfully passed the completion acceptance inspection. This key period marks a solid step toward official commissioning for this innovative infrastructure project equipped with a 20% hydrogen-blending transmission capability. It is reported that the Guyang-Baiyin'ebo Gas Transmission Pipeline Project is a key construction project under the "County-to-County Connection in Western Inner Mongolia" initiative of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region's 14th Five-Year Oil and Gas Development Plan. The pipeline stretches 125 km in total, starting from the Guyang First Station and running northward through Guyang County and Darhan Muminggan Joint Banner in Baotou City and the Baiyin'ebo Mining District, with its terminus at the Barun Industrial Park. As a distinctive project equipped with a 20% hydrogen-blending transmission capability, its completion and commissioning will drive the formation of a new interconnected ring-network gas supply pattern in the central and western regions of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, further enhancing energy supply security. This project is of great significance to the development of Baotou City. It will help this "World Capital of Rare Earth and Grassland Steel City" optimize its energy structure, improve production efficiency, and reduce energy costs, while providing energy support for technological innovation and industrial upgrading in the rare earth industry, building a stable energy supply chain, and strengthening the overall economic strength of the region. During the construction period, the Shaanxi Construction & Installation Group project team, upholding the enterprise philosophy of "Building for Good," successfully overcame challenges such as a short effective construction window and complex construction conditions. At the Kundulun River crossing section, the team employed large-scale horizontal directional drilling technology with round-the-clock operations, achieving a successful single-pass crossing with a 100% pass rate in conductivity testing. In addition, the project was the first in China to implement the new standard "Steel Pipes for Pipeline Transportation Systems in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry," verifying the feasibility of large-scale, long-distance hydrogen transportation using spiral submerged arc welded pipes and contributing to the realization of the nation's "dual carbon" goals.

Recently, the Hubei Provincial Energy Bureau released the public announcement of the sixth batch of first (set of) major technological equipment in the energy sector. The announcement showed that four major hydrogen energy technological equipment projects were selected, covering key segments of the hydrogen energy sector and highlighting the progress of hydrogen energy equipment R&D and application in the province. The four selected equipment projects are: a kilonormal-cubic-meter-class alkaline-PEM integrated electrolysis hydrogen production system, a marine methanol fuel supply system, a multi-chamber physical vapor deposition system for hydrogen fuel cell bipolar plates, and a large-scale off-grid flexible hydrogen production system, all of which feature distinctive innovation and application value. The kilonormal-cubic-meter-class alkaline-PEM integrated electrolysis hydrogen production system was jointly developed by five enterprises, with China Power Construction (Zaoyang) New Energy Development Co., Ltd. as the user entity, based on the China Power Construction Zaoyang New Energy Hydrogen and Oxygen Production Project. The equipment pioneered wide-load flexible regulation technology, enabling 10%–120% wide-load adjustment and cold start-up in ≤30 minutes, and is compatible with renewable energy, which is of great significance for promoting high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry. The marine methanol fuel supply system was independently developed by Jingmen Hongtu Special Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd., with its core encompassing multiple key technologies. Its methanol skid adopts an integrated skid-mounted design to achieve "plug-and-play" functionality and features a proprietary three-step pressure stabilization method that can handle fluctuations in methanol consumption, ensuring stable operation under complex working conditions. The multi-chamber physical vapor deposition system for hydrogen fuel cell bipolar plates was developed by Wuhan Research Institute of Materials Protection, China Academy of Machinery Science and Technology Group Co., Ltd. It achieved a leap from batch processing to 15-chamber fully automated continuous production, resolved core deficiencies of similar equipment in China, achieved 100% domestic component supply, and established a benchmark across the entire chain. The large-scale off-grid flexible hydrogen production system has Qianjiang Qingbei Hydrogen Energy Co., Ltd. as the user entity and was jointly developed by four organizations, based on the National Energy Administration hydrogen energy pilot project — the Hubei Qingbei Hydrogen Energy Qianjiang Green Hydrogen Project (green hydrogen capacity of 20,000 normal cubic meters per hour). Its solution is innovative and meets the application requirements. The selection of four hydrogen energy equipment projects is an affirmation of the province's hydrogen energy equipment R&D capabilities. It will drive breakthroughs in key hydrogen energy technologies, accelerate the industrialisation and application of equipment, and inject momentum into the province's energy structure transformation.

As of now, the FOB price of Indonesian MHP nickel was $15,341/mt Ni, and the FOB price of Indonesian MHP cobalt was $51,425/mt Co. MHP payables (against SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index) stood at 86-87, and the MHP cobalt element payable indicator (against SMM refined cobalt (Rotterdam warehouse)) was 94. The FOB price of Indonesian high-grade nickel matte was $15,623/mt Ni.

[SMM Tin Morning Brief: High Prices at the Beginning of Last Week Significantly Suppressed Downstream Purchase Willingness, and Some Enterprises Later Carried Out Moderate Restocking to Meet Rigid Demand at Lower Prices]

This week, against the backdrop of fluctuating upward copper prices, the secondary copper industry chain showed a complex situation in which extremely tight upstream raw material supply coexisted with persistent negative margins for downstream finished products. In the secondary copper rod market, SMM data showed that the operating rate fell further to 5.45% this week, down 0.38 percentage points MoM and 25.43 percentage points YoY

The final March S&P Global services PMI released by the US came in at 49.8, a reading that was not only below the preliminary 51.1, but also marked the first contraction since January 2023. During this period, growth in new orders fell to its lowest point in nearly two years, while export trade conditions deteriorated further compared with February. Meanwhile, the final composite PMI was confirmed at 50.3, significantly below the preliminary 51.4 and the lowest level since September 2023.

This week, ferrous metals were in the doldrums. The main logic during the week remained weakening cost support. On Tuesday, Iran proposed charging transit fees for the Strait of Hormuz, while Trump made conciliatory remarks, saying that “even if the Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed, he would still be willing to end military action against Iran.” Market expectations for tighter crude oil supply weakened, and declines in the energy sector dragged down the coal sector, weakening the cost-side logic. During the week, inventories of the five major steel products continued to decline, but apparent demand remained at a low level for the same period in previous years, providing limited fundamental-driven momentum to futures. In the spot market, purchasing interest was average, mainly focused on restocking at low prices. Spot prices were relatively firm, and the spot-futures price spread widened somewhat......

Thu, 02-Apr-2026 12:23 Gold investing sentiment never stronger outside financial or Covid crisis... GOLD's SHARPEST price drop in 13 years just saw a record number of investors buy the precious metal on BullionVault as the US and Israel went to war with Iran, writes Adrian Ash at the world-leading marketplace. Private investors have seized on gold's price drop because this sudden retreat has given buyers the chance to reset the clock back before January's historic price spike. After setting new all-time highs and rising for 9 months in a row − gold's longest-ever run of unbroken gains − the price of gold sank by 11.8% in March (-10.5% in UK Pounds, -9.7% in Euros) as the oil-price shock drove profit-taking by central banks, institutional investors and traders needing to cover losses in stocks and bonds. Jumping on the price drop, the number of investors choosing to buy gold on BullionVault − now used by 130,000 private investors worldwide and finding 9-in-10 of its clients in Western Europe and North America − rose by almost one-fifth from February's count (+18.2%). That meant buyers topped this New Year's previous record and outnumbered sellers (who rose 0.4%) nearly 3-to-1. It also means that investing sentiment in gold has only been stronger at the peak of the financial crisis and then the Covid pandemic. Tracking the number of buyers versus sellers on BullionVault each month, the Gold Investor Index is a unique gauge of sentiment built solely from actual gold trading decisions. Rebased so that a reading of 50.0 would signal a perfect balance of buyers and sellers, the Global Gold Investor Index set a lifetime high of 71.7 in September 2011, and it hit a series low of 47.5 in March 2024 when gold prices rose to what were then fresh record prices in the absence of any notable economic or financial stress. This March the Gold Investor Index rose to 60.7, adding 2.3 points to reach its highest reading since August 2020 and extending the uptrend begun on the eve of the US presidential election in autumn 2024 . Having risen so sharply during Trump's first year back in the White House, gold has shocked many observers by falling during the Iran War so far. But while gold now faces headwinds from higher inflation threatening a rise in interest rates, the danger of economic stagflation only boosts the need to spread portfolio risk as the geopolitical order breaks down. The breadth of demand says that gold remains a compelling investment in today's uncertain and increasingly dangerous world. In contrast to gold, investing sentiment in silver fell in March as the more industrially-useful precious metal sank in price, with BullionVault's gauge dropping to a 4-month low. But that still put the Silver Investor Index at 60.1, greater than all but 12 of the series' 170 previous monthly readings. Silver's price crash of 19.2% in US Dollar terms was its worst 1-month loss since September 2011 (the worst in GBP since Sept '11 at 17.5%; the worst since March 2020 in EUR at 16.8%). In response, investors using BullionVault bought almost 1.5 tonnes more than they sold as a group, taking total client holdings to 1,134 tonnes worth more than $2.6bn (£2.0bn, €2.3bn). Gold's price drop meanwhile saw BullionVault users buy more gold than they sold by weight for the first time since October, growing their total holdings by 0.2% to more than 43.4 tonnes worth $6.4 billion (£4.8bn, €5.5bn). New account openings fell by 1/3rd from February's figure (-33.2%) and totalled less than 2/5ths of January's all-time record (-60.5%). But March still marked the 8th strongest month for first-time users of BullionVault in the West London fintech's 21-year history. Altogether, the first 3 months of 2026 have now brought more new customers to BullionVault than all but 3 full calendar years since it opened in April 2005. Adrian Ash Adrian Ash is director of research at BullionVault, the world-leading physical gold, silver, platinum and palladium market for private investors online. Formerly head of editorial at London's top publisher of private-investment advice, he was City correspondent for The Daily Reckoning from 2003 to 2008, and he has now been researching and writing daily analysis of precious metals and the wider financial markets for over 20 years. A frequent guest on BBC radio and television, Adrian is regularly quoted by the Financial Times , MarketWatch and many other respected news outlets, and his views from inside the bullion market have been sought by the Economist magazine, CNBC, Bloomberg, Germany's Handelsblatt and FAZ , plus Italy's Il Sole 24 Ore. See the full archive of Adrian Ash articles on GoldNews. Please Note: All articles published here are to inform your thinking, not lead it. Only you can decide the best place for your money, and any decision you make will put your money at risk. Information or data included here may have already been overtaken by events – and must be verified elsewhere – should you choose to act on it. Please review our Terms & Conditions for accessing Gold News . Source: https://www.bullionvault.com/gold-news/gold-investor-index/buy-gold-iran-war-040220261

At the start of this week, the market still repeatedly traded around the Middle East situation, oil prices, and US Fed expectations. As the Iran conflict continued to escalate, crude oil stayed elevated, the US dollar held up well, and copper prices were overall under pressure. Although the market briefly traded expectations that the US might contain further escalation, lifting risk appetite for a short time, Powell said the current policy stance remained appropriate to “wait and see,” and with the war’s disruption to inflation and growth not yet fading, macro sentiment quickly turned cautious again. Overall, the macro theme changed relatively little this week, with geopolitical risks still pushing up oil prices, heightening inflation concerns, and creating phased pressure on copper prices. Fundamentally, the copper market’s own drivers remained mixed between bullish and bearish factors. China’s manufacturing climate in March remained in expansion territory, providing some support to demand expectations. However, recent trading in the LME market still mostly reflected revisions to earlier shortage expectations. In reality, global visible inventory remained high, restraining the upward momentum of copper prices. Meanwhile, the US adjusted the tariff calculation rules for steel, aluminum, and copper derivatives this week. Although this did not change the 50 tariff framework on copper itself, the policy disruption still affected market sentiment and trade flows. Overall, the copper market remained in a pattern of macro pressure and high inventory, while marginal improvement in China’s demand and the logic of tightness on the mine side remained unchanged. Looking ahead to next week, the macro logic is expected to see no significant change. If the Middle East situation does not materially ease, oil prices and the US dollar will still weigh on copper prices, and short-term resistance will remain. However, support will still persist on the fundamental side, and copper prices are expected to continue to move sideways within a range. LME copper is expected to fluctuate at $12,000-12,500/mt, and SHFE copper at 94,000-97,500 yuan/mt. Spot side, China’s inventory drawdown trend is expected to continue, and premiums are expected to keep rising. Spot prices against the SHFE copper front-month contract are expected to range from a discount of 60 yuan/mt to a premium of 50 yuan/mt.