In April 2026, magnesium prices fell by a cumulative 800 yuan/mt within the month. As of April 30, mainstream quotations for 99.90% magnesium ingot in the Fugu and Shenmu areas remained at 16,600 yuan/mt. In April 2026, domestic magnesium ingot prices continued to decline overall. Supply side, the earlier recovery in magnesium prices drove profit restoration across the industry, and under profit incentives, major magnesium producers actively raised operating rates and increased magnesium ingot production, resulting in a notable increase in market supply and growing overall supply pressure. Demand side, downstream producers in China exhibited strong fear of high prices, mostly making just-in-time procurement, with the overall procurement pace slowing down significantly. Meanwhile, export trade was affected by stricter customs inspections, with order clearance and shipment disrupted, leading to a short-term pullback in exports. Insufficient support from both domestic and external demand dragged April magnesium prices into a sustained decline. Primary magnesium production rose 3.63% MoM in April. April domestic primary magnesium production increased notably, mainly because magnesium prices rose steadily from late March and market conditions continued to recover. Rising magnesium prices drove profit restoration at smelters, prompting previously idled or low-load enterprises to resume production under profit incentives, while operating enterprises simultaneously raised their operating loads. Industry operating rates continued to climb, with enterprises collectively ramping up and resuming production, pushing April primary magnesium production to grow steadily. By province, most primary magnesium smelters maintained stable production in April, while some increased output. Provinces with rising primary magnesium production in April were mainly Shaanxi and Xinjiang. Specifically, primary magnesium smelters in the main producing areas saw production increases, with Shaanxi's share of primary magnesium edging up slightly as two primary magnesium smelters resumed production and most operated at full capacity. In April, one primary magnesium smelter in Xinjiang gradually commissioned new capacity, and Xinjiang's share of primary magnesium production edged up. Looking ahead to May, current magnesium prices are approaching the cost lines of primary magnesium smelters in the main producing areas. Some producers plan to halt production for maintenance in May, and primary magnesium production is expected to edge down slightly in May. In April 2026, magnesium alloy production decreased 7.18% MoM. This round of decline in magnesium alloy production was caused by multiple factors on both the supply and demand sides: affected by the continued decline in magnesium ingot prices, the sentiment of rushing to buy amid continuous price rise and holding back amid price downturn spread among downstream players, with die-casting enterprises showing weak order willingness. This was compounded by the cancellation of some magnesium alloy orders by the two-wheeler industry, triggering a chain reaction that further pressured midstream processing orders. Meanwhile, after a fire incident at a die-casting plant, regional environmental protection supervision tightened, constraining production. Multiple factors dragged down magnesium alloy orders. Supply side, some alloy enterprises entered routine maintenance cycles, leading to phased production cuts, and production performance remained weak under multiple pressures. Magnesium alloy production is expected to continue its upward trend in May. Supply side, according to SMM, multiple magnesium alloy smelters raised their operating rates, and some magnesium alloy production lines at smelters that were under maintenance in April resumed production. A newly built magnesium alloy smelter was completed and put into operation, with magnesium alloy supply rising steadily. Demand side, die-casting equipment is being installed successively, and current magnesium alloy die-casting capacity is rising steadily. Moreover, stricter enforcement of the new national standard for two-wheelers may transmit policy-driven momentum upstream to drive a recovery in magnesium alloy orders. Overall, the magnesium alloy market is expected to see robust supply and demand in May, with magnesium alloy production growing steadily. In early to mid-May, operating rates of China's primary magnesium smelters stayed high, with operating rates in major producing areas rising above 80%. Spot supply of magnesium ingots in the market was ample, and overall inventory pressure on smelters was relatively high. After the Labour Day holiday, some magnesium plants urgently needed to collect payments to pay electricity bills, distribute employee wages, and maintain daily operations, proactively offering price concessions to stimulate transactions. However, supported by raw material and production costs, the room for price adjustments by magnesium plants was limited, and the magnesium ingot price range remained at 16,000-16,500 yuan/mt in early to mid-May. In mid to late May, after a prolonged gradual decline in magnesium prices in the earlier period, magnesium prices bottomed out driven by concentrated downstream restocking, but the overall rebound height was limited. Current market supply pressure is relatively high, and magnesium prices lack unilateral upward momentum. Meanwhile, from the perspective of costs and the supply-demand pattern, downside room for magnesium prices has also narrowed. On one hand, primary magnesium smelters are already approaching the break-even line and can hardly withstand significant deep price drops. On the other hand, current temperatures already meet the conditions for magnesium plants to halt production for maintenance. If prices continue to decline further, smelters may collectively halt production for maintenance to contract supply, ease market inventory pressure, and further support magnesium prices.

[SMM Analysis] Copper prices have surged recently. On the surface, the current hot topics in the copper market are focused on the following areas: the widening LME-COMEX price spread, copper concentrate TCs hitting new lows again, the energy crisis in Peru, the repeated fluctuations in the pace of Grasberg's production resumptions, and the substitution effect between copper cathode and copper scrap in China. However, from a deeper perspective, all these events can be understood under a single theme: the growing global emphasis on copper resource security, with the market repricing the entire industry chain.

On May 10, Huayou Cobalt disclosed the latest developments regarding its subsidiary's transfer of related rights and obligations and the acquisition of equity in Atlantic Lithium Limited. The core content of this rights and obligations transfer includes obtaining the right to acquire a 22.5% stake in Atlantic Lithium's Singapore subsidiary. It also involves securing an offtake right for no less than 50% of the products from the Ewoyaa Lithium Project and assuming related obligations for project development. If both the "Contract Novation Agreement" and the transaction to acquire 100% of Atlantic Lithium are completed, Huayou Cobalt will indirectly hold an 87% interest in the Ewoyaa Lithium Project.

The minutes of Tianhe Magnetics' investor briefing held on May 7 showed: 1. What is the trend in the revenue share of the NEV business, and how is the recovery in wind power, consumer electronics, and other segments? Tianhe Magnetics responded: Hello, thank you for your attention! The company's products are widely used in NEVs and parts, wind power, energy-efficient home appliances, consumer electronics, and other fields. Its clients are all industry leaders, and the company has been deeply integrated into the core supply chains of top-tier players in and outside China. During the reporting period, NEVs and parts remained the downstream segment with the highest share; wind power and consumer electronics segments recovered and grew YoY. The company adheres to a diversified strategy, deepens strategic cooperation with clients, strengthens client loyalty, and continues to expand downstream applications to support steady business growth. 2. What is the specific progress of "small-batch delivery" of dedicated magnets for humanoid robots, and what is the expected revenue contribution? Tianhe Magnetics responded: Hello, thank you for your attention! In the humanoid robot field, the company works closely with relevant clients to jointly conduct R&D and trial production of related projects. The specific revenue contribution is directly linked to the promotion and application progress of humanoid robots. 3. Against the backdrop of tightening rare earth export controls, how can the sustainability of the 44% ex-China business be ensured? Tianhe Magnetics responded: Hello, thank you for your attention! The company coordinates and obtains export licenses from the Ministry of Commerce in an orderly manner based on client orders to ensure the smooth and sustained operation of its export business. At the same time, the company actively expands markets outside China, deepens engagement with existing clients and develops new clients, increases efforts in developing zero-heavy-rare-earth products, and scales up product exports to ensure steady growth in ex-China performance. Tianhe Magnetics' Q1 2026 report disclosed on April 28 showed: the company achieved total operating revenue of 594 million yuan, up 13.12% YoY; net profit attributable to the parent company was 47.873 million yuan, up 33.41% YoY. Tianhe Magnetics' Q1 report showed: raw material prices remained at high levels, and selling prices of some sales orders were raised, which in turn affected related profit indicators. Tianhe Magnetics' annual report showed: 2025 was the inaugural year of Tianhe Magnetics' entry into the capital market, and the company embarked on a new phase of high-quality development. Positioned at the forefront of the industry, amid the trend of high-end, intelligent, and green development in the rare earth industry, the company anchored on technological innovation and intelligent management as its core, deepened collaborative partnerships with clients, continuously optimized its supply chain layout, steadily released capacity from IPO-funded projects, and progressively implemented automated production line upgrades and green process improvements. Meanwhile, the company actively expanded its product portfolio and industrial reach into injection-molded magnets, bonded magnets, and magnetic assemblies to provide clients with comprehensive rare earth permanent magnet solutions. In addition, the company accelerated its positioning in emerging sectors such as humanoid robots and the low-altitude economy to build momentum for long-term growth. In 2025, the company achieved operating revenue of 2.346 billion yuan, down 9.47% YoY, total profit of 170.908 million yuan, up 18.81% YoY, and net profit of 161.161 million yuan, up 18.43% YoY. In its annual report, when introducing its main business, products, and application fields, Tianhe Magnetics stated: The company is a leading high performance rare earth permanent magnet material provider in China. With the corporate vision of "being a leader in permanent magnet material innovation," the company is primarily engaged in the R&D, production, and sales of high performance rare earth permanent magnet materials such as sintered NdFeB and sintered SmCo, while extending its industrial reach into injection-molded magnets, bonded magnets, and magnetic assemblies to provide clients with comprehensive rare earth permanent magnet solutions. With independent R&D and technological innovation at its core, and guided by the application scenarios and development needs of downstream cutting-edge fields such as NEVs and auto parts, wind power generation, intelligent manufacturing, and 3C consumer electronics, as well as emerging industries such as humanoid robots and the low-altitude economy, the company effectively leverages the fundamental and pioneering role of rare earth permanent magnets as key strategic materials, continuously advancing the innovation and application of high performance, resource-efficient rare earth permanent magnet materials to drive downstream technological innovation, product upgrades, and industrial transformation. Regarding the company's business plan, Tianhe Magnetics stated in its annual report: 2026 is the second year since Tianhe Magnetics' listing and the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan. Standing at a new starting point, the company adopts "innovation" as its annual development theme, upholds the philosophy of "breaking conventions and embracing change," and continues to deepen its presence in the high performance rare earth permanent magnet material field. Leveraging its two rare earth bases in Baotou, the company plans to focus on core technology upgrades and high-end market expansion both in and outside China, seize the strategic opportunities of the global energy transition and intelligent development, and drive "development" through "innovation." Under the leadership of the board of directors, the company plans to further integrate resources, leverage its strengths, and systematically advance various initiatives around its business objectives to ensure high-quality and sustainable development. In 2026, the company plans to focus on the following initiatives: 1. With "innovation" at the core, continuously strengthen R&D investment and drive product and technology upgrades. 2. Pursue new frontiers: focus on expanding new products, new clients, and new markets. 3. Continuously strengthen production and quality management to improve yield and turnover efficiency. 4. Deepen the construction of digital smart factories to continuously enhance production efficiency. 5. Steadily advance IPO-funded and new project construction to expand capacity and support performance growth. (1) Continue to advance IPO-funded project construction. In 2026, the company plans to continue advancing the implementation of IPO-funded projects as planned. Upon full production, the company will reach an annual capacity of 12,300 mt. The company plans to continuously improve manufacturing efficiency through automated production line upgrades, digital management system deployment, and green production process transformation, ensuring capacity alignment across all stages from blank production to finished product inspection, and laying a solid foundation for performance growth. (2) Advance the Tianhe New Materials project construction. The Phase I of the "Tianhe New Materials Rare Earth Zero-Carbon Industrial Park (High Performance Rare Earth Permanent Magnets and Assemblies, Equipment Manufacturing and R&D Project)" invested and constructed by the company's subsidiary Tianhe New Materials has been launched. Upon completion, the project will further expand the business scale and enhance the company's overall profitability, market competitiveness, and risk resilience. 6. Enhance intelligent equipment manufacturing capabilities and cultivate new growth drivers. 7. Management empowerment: continuously strengthen organizational and talent development. 8. Continue to improve ESG efforts and promote sustainable development. 9. Strengthen investor relations and market capitalization management to drive sustained enhancement of company value. When disclosing the risk of raw material price fluctuations, Tianhe Magnetics stated: The main raw materials required for the company's production are rare earth metals, which are relatively expensive and subject to notable fluctuations due to multiple factors including macro economy, trade environment, industrial policies, and market supply and demand. Although rare earth permanent magnet material enterprises can dynamically adjust product selling prices based on factors such as raw material price changes, some existing order prices are locked in, and price adjustments for new orders also involve negotiation cycles, so product price adjustments typically lag behind raw material price fluctuations. If raw material prices continue to swing wildly in the future and the company fails to respond in a timely and effective manner, it may adversely affect business performance. Countermeasures: To address this risk, the company continuously strengthens supply chain management, signs long-term agreements with major suppliers to establish stable partnerships, and implements a scientific raw material reserve strategy to smooth out the impact of price fluctuations. A review of the 2025 price performance of Pr-Nd alloy, a key raw material for NdFeB, showed: the average price of Pr-Nd alloy on December 31, 2025 was 735,000 yuan/mt, up 50.31% compared with its average price of 489,000 yuan/mt on December 31, 2024. The annual daily average price of Pr-Nd alloy in 2025 was 602,181.07 yuan/mt, up 117,476.52 yuan/mt or 24.24% YoY compared with the annual daily average price of 484,704.55 yuan/mt in 2024. A review of the price trend of Pr-Nd alloy in Q1 this year showed: the average price of Pr-Nd alloy on March 31 this year was 880,000 yuan/mt, up 145,000 yuan/mt or 19.73% compared with its average price of 735,000 yuan/mt on December 31, 2025. The daily average price of Pr-Nd alloy in Q1 this year was 913,035.71 yuan/mt, up 385,018.17 yuan/mt or 72.92% compared with the Q1 2025 daily average price of 528,017.54 yuan/mt. On May 8, the price of Pr-Nd alloy was 925,000–930,000 yuan/mt, with an average price of 927,500 yuan/mt, down 0.8% from the previous trading day. Currently, rare earth market prices continue to weaken. Pr-Nd market, downstream purchasing inquiries showed no improvement, and suppliers of oxides maintained a low-price selling strategy to facilitate shipments. However, Pr-Nd oxide futures prices recovered somewhat on the morning of May 8, narrowing the price decline of Pr-Nd oxide. Metal market, constrained by sluggish downstream inquiries, factories showed limited willingness to actively quote, and some suppliers chose to continue lowering their offers. However, as the decline in spot oxide prices narrowed, the actual decline in Pr-Nd alloy prices also narrowed. Nevertheless, downstream wait-and-see sentiment remained strong, and the market trading atmosphere did not see effective improvement. In the short term, Pr-Nd product prices are expected to move sideways amid the tug-of-war between upstream and downstream players.

Starting from the new all-time high of USD 5,602 on January 29, the gold price has now been in a correction phase for over three months, characterized so far by two sharp downward waves, two recovery waves, and most recently by another downward wave since mid-April.

The core logic of the South American steel market is that end-user demand drives everything. Consumption demand is the starting point, filled jointly by local production and imports; imports act as a regulating valve rather than a driving force.

During an investor meeting on April 27, Sungrow revealed plans to launch its first-generation AIDC power products by year-end, with mass production set for next year. Leveraging the decreasing costs of domestic SiC devices, the company is also developing secondary and tertiary power supplies. Notably, AIDC is showing strong synergies with energy storage; due to power shortages in regions like the US, demand for "AIDC + Storage" solutions is rising, with order fulfillment expected to begin next year.

It has become a consensus that domestic demand for new energy vehicles will be under periodic pressure in 2026. However, the industry has not lost its growth momentum but is shifting from past expansion driven by pricing and policy to a growth model supported by products, structural optimization, and markets outside China. At the same time, the rise on the cost side is squeezing profit margins, making the issue of "growing but not profiting" increasingly visible.

European distribution grid investment surged 51% between 2021 and 2024, reaching €35.3 billion annually, and is projected to hit €46.7 billion by 2027, according to a new ACER report. While spending is rising, ACER warns that fragmented planning, a persistent bias toward physical infrastructure over flexibility, and uneven digitalization are hindering progress. Nearly two-thirds of DSOs are currently exempt from mandatory network development plans, creating structural gaps in grid readiness. As solar and storage applications skyrocket—with the UK seeing a 460% surge in early 2025—grid constraints remain a critical bottleneck for the continent's clean energy goals.

According to an SMM survey, steel semi-finished product export orders have recently surged, with slab export orders seeing particularly significant growth. SMM believes two major factors contributed to this round of growth: "Demand" Provides the Necessary Condition for the Surge in Semi-Finished Product Export Orders On one hand, benefiting from the spillover effect of export demand caused by the US-Iran conflict, infrastructure and manufacturing in Southeast Asia have grown rapidly. However, the region only has rolling capacity and lacks steelmaking capacity, necessitating large imports of steel billet. According to data compiled by SMM, Southeast Asia imported approximately 2.31 million mt of steel from the Middle East in 2025, of which a staggering 97% was semi-finished steel billet. Therefore, when passage through the Strait of Hormuz was restricted, the Southeast Asian market was instantly exposed to a rigid shortfall of over 2 million mt. For detailed analysis, please refer to the article "Sudden Shift in Middle East Situation Triggers 'Mismatch,' China Accelerates to Fill Approximately 2.3 Million mt Supply Vacuum in Southeast Asia." The existence of this gap provides an excellent window for China's semi-finished product exports. "Price Advantage" Provides the Sufficient Condition for the Surge in Semi-Finished Product Export Orders On the other hand, price increases outside China far exceeded those in China. During this period, the FOB price of Dexin slabs in Indonesia rose from $470/mt to $540/mt, an increase of 14.89%, while the FOB price of slabs in China rose from $455/mt to $480/mt, an increase of only 5.49%. The huge price difference made buyers outside China particularly favour semi-finished products from China. SMM surveyed some recent slab transaction details from domestic sellers, as shown in the table below. Survey Records: Enterprise A: At the current price, they are willing to take slab orders, but orders have already been booked through August, with an estimated volume of 80,000 mt per month. Enterprise B: They started taking slab orders from April. They take orders when the price is right. The current price is only 20-30 yuan/mt lower than HRC. Enterprise C: They can only accept exporting slabs at HRC prices now. If overseas buyers don't want them, then forget it. Enterprise D: They haven't been in contact with new slab orders recently. Their last order was in March. However, if there is subsequent demand, they may have new resources available for export by June. Enterprise E: Their orders were all taken earlier. Previously, they were selling at over 100 yuan below HRC, but now the quoted price is only a few dozen yuan below HRC. However, transactions have clearly slowed down. The current ex-factory price is approximately 3,120. The surge in demand has driven prices higher. As shown in the chart below, normally the price spread between slabs and HRC stays around $20-30, which aligns with normal rolling costs. However, since April, this spread has narrowed to around $10, and has recently further narrowed to single digits. This is mainly because as steel mills' shipping schedules have gradually been pushed back, their willingness to hold prices firm has also strengthened. Some steel mills are even exporting slabs at prices equivalent to domestic HRC trade prices, which provides them with significant export motivation. Chart 1 - SMM China HRC & Slab Export FOB Price Trend SMM Expects Slab Exports to Rise Significantly, April-August In January-February this year, total steel billet exports were 1.7746 million mt, of which slabs accounted for 232,600 mt, square billets for 1.5196 million mt, and slabs made up 13.11%. Chart 2 - China Steel Billet Exports by Product, January-February 2026 Based on the survey, the increase in slab export orders was more of a March-April phenomenon. Considering the time interval from order placement to shipping schedule, SMM expects slab exports to show a relatively significant upward trend from April to August. Surge in Slab Orders May Improve HRC Fundamentals In April, the daily average production schedule for commercial HR products at 39 mills was 448,300 mt, up 8.5% MoM from actual daily average production. The daily average production schedule for commercial HR products at 54 steel mills was 581,100 mt, up 9.2% MoM from actual daily average production. HR supply pressure increased MoM, but the peak season performance of China's manufacturing sector during the "Golden March, Silver April" period was overall satisfactory. According to SMM data, as of April 9, total HRC inventory was 6.6556 million mt, down 111,100 mt WoW. Destocking is expected to maintain a healthy pace going forward. However, when the spot-futures price spread was at suitable levels before the Chinese New Year, traders engaged in futures-spot arbitrage were particularly active in North China and other regions, accelerating social inventory accumulation. Current social inventory is up 34.93% YoY. If steel mills' semi-finished product export orders perform well, this could create opportunities for subsequent reductions in commercial product supply, while also providing support for current prices.