[SMM Tin Brief Commentary: SHFE Tin Stopped Falling and Rebounded, Closing Up 2.94% as Macro Pressure and Bottom Support Vied Against Each Other]

SMM News: As of March 20, 2026, the market price for Praseodymium-Neodymium (Pr-Nd) metal in China stabilized temporarily at 890,000–910,000 RMB/ton. This article utilizes the SMM Pr-Nd Terminal Demand Calculation Model to dissect the demand logic for 2026 across three core sectors—New Energy Vehicles (NEVs), Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles, and Wind Power—explaining the current supply-demand dilemma facing the NdFeB magnet and broader Pr-Nd markets.

It is worth noting that the overall overseas ternary cathode demand outlook for 2026 remains subdued. The U.S. market has been sluggish since the fourth quarter of last year, prompting many overseas manufacturers to place their hopes on the European market.

Ouyang Minggao pointed out that large-scale mass production of all-solid-state batteries will still require 3–5 years, with test vehicles expected to appear by the end of 2026. Sulphide electrolyte has fallen from 20 million/mt to the million-level range. However, he stressed that the technical difficulty is extremely high and advised consumers that they “need not wait,” as LFP batteries remain the “ballast stone” at present.

The 2026 SMM (3rd) Global Renewable Metal Industry Chain Summit & Battery Recycling Forum will be held in Tokyo, Japan, from May 11–12, 2026. The summit aims to bring together leading global enterprises, research institutions, industry experts, and policymakers in the fields of renewable metals and battery recycling.

[SMM Platinum and Palladium Weekly Review] This week (March 9–March 13), the most-traded platinum futures contract PT2606 opened at 534 yuan/gram and closed at 541.6 yuan/gram, down 15.7 yuan/gram WoW from last week’s settlement price, a decline of 2.82%. The weekly highest price was 577.85 yuan/gram, and the weekly lowest price was 522.6 yuan/gram; the most-traded palladium futures contract PD2606 opened at 408.75 yuan/gram and closed at 408.1 yuan/gram, down 13.8 yuan/gram WoW from last week’s settlement price, down 3.27% WoW from last week’s settlement price. The weekly highest price was 430 yuan/gram, and the weekly lowest price was 397 yuan/gram. Futures trading: The most-traded platinum futures contract PT2606 recorded total trading volume of 31,227 lots during the week, with total turnover of 17.368 billion yuan and open interest of 19,989 lots; open interest decreased by 1,894 lots WoW. The most-traded palladium futures contract PD2606 recorded total trading volume of 11,077 lots during the week, with total turnover of 4.616 billion yuan and open interest of 7,612 lots; open interest increased by 11 lots WoW. At present, the US–Iran conflict remained dominated by political expectations, while the reality on the ground was still unresolved. On the political-expectations front, Trump frequently released marginal de-escalation signals to curb oil prices, saying the Iran issue was only a short-term military operation and expressing willingness to engage in dialogue with Iran; the TACO trade pulled oil prices back to around 90. On the reality front, Mojtaba, son of Khamenei, formally succeeded to power, and Iran entered the “Era of Avengers,” beginning to threaten the Strait of Hormuz; its foreign minister said the new leadership would refuse to negotiate with Trump. If the US–Iran conflict continues to escalate, it will push up oil prices and trigger concerns over imported inflation in the US, thereby delaying the Fed’s progress on interest rate cuts. On tariffs, after reciprocal tariff was overturned by the Supreme Court, the Trump administration will seek a more solid legal basis to rebuild the tariff framework. The risk of re-inflation remained relatively high, and disputes over new tax rates and tax rebates lifted policy uncertainty to some extent. In the short term, Trump filled the tariff-rate vacuum through the 122 temporary tariff; in the medium and long-term, he may maintain a high-tariff framework via 232 and 301. In addition, the massive tax rebate pressure brought about after reciprocal tariff was ruled illegal will further increase the US fiscal burden, thereby reinforcing the logic of a weaker US dollar and providing support to precious metals overall. Supply side, NERSA announced it had formally approved Eskom’s electricity price adjustment plan for the next two years: electricity prices will be raised by 8.76% in April this year and raised again by 8.83% in April 2027. As South Africa’s PGM mining is highly dependent on electricity, rising electricity prices will continue to lift the cost center for platinum and palladium. The US Department of Commerce issued an announcement, making an affirmative preliminary anti-dumping determination on unwrought palladium imported from Russia, preliminarily determining the dumping margin for all Russian exporters/producers at 132.83%. In terms of valuation, watch changes in the US dollar index, which involve the relative strength of currencies such as the euro and the yen. Pay attention to details on the new administrator announced by the LME. Pay attention to the March 19 FOMC meeting, changes in economic data, and the impact of Wosh’s remarks on monetary policy expectations. The precious metals sector mainly benefited from the policy and political-environment tug-of-war during the US Fed’s midterm-election time window. From a medium- and long-term perspective, the foundation for a bull market in platinum and palladium remained intact. In the short term, be alert to the risk of a phased adjustment driven by a delay in expectations for an interest rate cut; pullbacks should be viewed as medium- and long-term opportunities to add long positions. Amid high fluctuations in platinum and palladium, pay attention to position sizing. As domestic and overseas markets are not continuous, the opening price of platinum and palladium often references the overseas night session; investors should monitor trading prices in international markets and be wary of opening gaps. Spot market, this week most traders holding cargo actively quoted prices. Some traders reported that supply was currently relatively ample while the market was relatively sluggish. Most downstream clients had sufficient inventory and mainly stayed on the sidelines, with only some downstream buyers making small, negotiated purchases to meet order demand. Along with continued cooling in investment demand, transactions were relatively difficult and price involution was severe. Overall, spot market trading this week was generally subdued.

Chinese leading car rental brand eHi Car Services and the Sino-German joint venture SAIC Volkswagen recently declared a comprehensive strategic partnership.

May 7, 2025 News: According to a report by Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) on April 30, ERG has signed an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract with China Tianchen Engineering Corporation (TCC) to build a ferroalloy gas utilization facility in Kazakhstan. The project plans to integrate the first 80-megawatt (MW) wind power plant in Khromtau, Kazakhstan, into the No. 4 smelting workshop of the Aktobe Ferroalloy Plant, converting by-products lost to combustion into round-the-clock electricity. It is expected that the facility will divert over 600,000 m³ of natural gas annually, thereby eliminating combustion and significantly reducing emissions. ERG has allocated $92 million for the project, which is expected to be completed in 2026 and is anticipated to create new permanent job opportunities. Meanwhile, the initiative also ensures self-generated power, placing Kazchrome, a subsidiary of ERG and one of the world's largest ferroalloy producers, on a clear path to support the country's carbon neutrality goals.

Recently, Shanghai Hydrogen Era Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hydrogen Era") dispatched four sets of its independently developed 1050Nm³/h Bristack®-Z series alkaline electrolyzers and supporting gas-liquid separation systems in batches to the project site of the China Energy Engineering Group Songyuan Hydrogen Energy Industrial Park. As the world's largest integrated green hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol project to date, the industrial park focuses on the layout of the entire industry chain of "green electricity for hydrogen production - hydrogen and ammonia production - hydrogen energy application". Upon completion, it will become a benchmark demonstration project for the comprehensive utilisation of hydrogen energy in north-east China. As a representative product of Hydrogen Era's Bristack®-Z series, the electrolyzers delivered this time adopt an advanced flow field design structure, ensuring more uniform temperature distribution and significantly improving electrolysis efficiency. They possess wide load adaptability and rapid dynamic response capabilities, enabling them to steadily cope with load fluctuations in wind and solar power-based hydrogen production scenarios, providing solid guarantees for the efficient use of green energy. Before the equipment was dispatched, Hydrogen Era conducted multiple rigorous tests on it using its self-built 10MW full-power testing platform. Certified by a third-party institution, the product's performance data have reached internationally leading levels, representing the excellent technical reliability and quality consistency of the Bristack®-Z series products. Hydrogen Era's 10MW Full-Power Testing Platform for Alkaline Electrolyzers The successful dispatch of the electrolyzers and gas-liquid separation systems this time marks another important milestone for Hydrogen Era in the field of hydrogen production equipment manufacturing. Previously, Hydrogen Era has successfully participated in the 8200Nm³/h hydrogen production project for Shanghai Electric's Taonan wind power coupled with biomass-based green methanol project and a 4000Nm³/h hydrogen production project in Shandong Province, accumulating rich project experience and technical strength. As an active practitioner of the "dual carbon" strategy, Hydrogen Era continues to reduce the production cost of green hydrogen through technological innovation and large-scale delivery, promoting the leapfrog development of hydrogen energy from an "alternative energy" to a "primary energy source".

According to foreign media reports, with the advent of the era of electric vehicles, the global demand for batteries is growing.