According to SMM data, China’s average operating rate of zinc oxide stood at 38.88% in Q1 2026, down 3.98 percentage points year-on-year.What are the reasons behind this?

[Solid Geopolitical Support, Aluminum Prices Fluctuate at Highs] Overall, from a macro perspective, restricted strait transit and risks of conflict escalation resonated with fundamental supply-side hard damage and low global inventory, jointly providing strong bottom support for aluminum prices. However, weak interest rate cut expectations, above-expectation aluminum ingot inventory buildup in China, and adverse expectations on consumption and inflation driven by recent high fluctuations in oil prices all notably weighed on the upside room for aluminum prices. In the short term, aluminum prices are expected to fluctuate at highs.

[SMM Titanium Spot Brief: Titanium Dioxide Prices Rose, Titanium Slag Prices Fell, Titanium Ore Prices Held Steady] On April 10, acid-soluble titanium slag prices fell, while reduced titanium and high-titanium slag prices held steady. Titanium tetrachloride prices rose, and titanium ore prices remained largely stable overall. Titanium dioxide prices saw a broad rise this week, with anatase and rutile grades posting notable gains, while chloride-process titanium dioxide edged up. High-titanium slag prices are expected to hold steady, and titanium concentrate prices are likely to see limited fluctuations.

This week, ferrous metals fluctuated downward, with raw materials declining significantly more than finished steel. Cost-side logic weakened further during the week. Mid-week, both the U.S. and Iran indicated they had entered the final stage of finalising negotiation details, causing overseas market crude oil to plunge and dragging down the coal sector. In the latter half of the week, rumors emerged that negotiations between China Mineral Resources and BHP would be announced next week, with iron ore leading the downward trend. On the finished steel side, inventories of the five major steel products continued to destock, maintaining a structure of both rising supply and demand. Spot market side, futures were weak, end-user purchasing enthusiasm was lukewarm, the spot-futures price spread widened somewhat, and some market arbitrageurs between spot and futures began to take profits...

Since March, the domestic tungsten market has trended higher and then pulled back. Driven by rigid supply and macro sentiment at the beginning of March, prices rose rapidly, with 65% wolframite concentrate hitting a record high of 105,000 yuan per standard ton. Starting from mid-March, profit-taking by investors, downstream resistance to high prices, and a general correction in commodity markets led to a gradual price pullback, pushing the entire market into a phase of supply-demand game.

SMM April 10 News: Dealers in Hunan reported that end-use consumption in the automotive storage battery market was weak, retailers were cautious in purchasing, and battery inventory exceeded one month. In addition, selling prices in the battery wholesale market remained unchanged for the time being, with the wholesale price of 6-QW-60Ah at 260-300 yuan/unit. Manufacturers in Zhejiang reported that the automotive storage battery market entered the traditional peak season, but orders in April weakened MoM. Coupled with mediocre battery exports, the current factory operating rate was at 60-70%, and raw material lead was mainly purchased through long-term contracts. Manufacturers in Hebei reported that replacement demand in the automotive storage battery market was weakening, while OEM orders were moderate. Currently, factories produced based on sales, with production line operating rates at around 90%, and raw material lead was purchased as needed.

According to SMM data, the operating rate of copper pipe & tube enterprises was 82.45% in March, up 23.71 percentage points MoM and down 2.78 percentage points YoY.

[Dual Factors Constrained Industry Operations, Die-Casting Zinc Alloy Operating Rates Declined This Week] Operating rates weakened WoW this week. On one hand, some enterprises arranged holidays due to the Qingming Festival; on the other hand, rising zinc prices dampened downstream purchase willingness, and increasing finished product inventories led to a slowdown in enterprise production pace...

[Demand Continues to Recover, Zinc Oxide Production Keeps Rising] High prices suppressed downstream order-taking, and some enterprises saw continued accumulation of finished product inventories, with inventory pressure increasing. Production starts rose WoW during the week, mainly driven by the gradual recovery of orders across downstream sectors, which boosted overall production capacity utilization of enterprises...

[Qingming Holiday Impact on Galvanizing Operations]: The operating rates of galvanising producers stood at 57.89% this week, edging down 0.86 percentage points WoW. Raw material side, zinc prices fluctuated at highs throughout the week, with downstream players picking up fewer goods and mainly consuming existing stocks. However, zinc ingots previously priced by galvanising enterprises were delivered successively, and zinc ingot inventory at galvanising enterprises edged down slightly.