[SMM Tungsten Daily Review: Strong Wait-and-See Sentiment as the Tungsten Market Awaited Stabilization in Transactions] SMM News, March 18 Tungsten market prices were largely stable today, with only minor fluctuations, and the market showed strong wait-and-see sentiment. Trading volume in segments such as tungsten ore and APT was sparse, with transaction prices mostly hovering around the quoted price range. Transactions for downstream products such as powder were also limited, and transaction prices showed a slight downward trend.

SMM Steel, February 24 – According to SMM statistics, the estimated total shipments to mainstream markets this week reached 302,700 mt, up 50.90% WoW. By market:

[SMM Zinc Morning Comment] Overnight, the most-traded SHFE zinc 2605 contract opened at 23,680 yuan/mt. In early trading, SHFE zinc briefly rose to a high of 23,685 yuan/mt, after which bears added to their positions and SHFE zinc fluctuated downward all the way, hitting a low of 23,440 yuan/mt near the close. It finally closed down at 23,455 yuan/mt, down 275 yuan/mt, or 1.16%. Trading volume fell to 39,416 lots, and open interest increased by 10,738 lots to 91,209 lots.

On March 14, 2026, the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade of Ukraine issued a notice stating that, pursuant to Resolution No. AD-598/2026/441-01 of the Commission dated March 10, 2026, it had made an affirmative final ruling in the third sunset review of the antidumping measures on steel wire ropes and cables originating in China, and decided to continue imposing antidumping duties on the products concerned for another five years at an unchanged rate of 123. The period of investigation in this case was from January 1, 2022 to March 31, 2025. The Ukrainian tariff codes of the products concerned were 7312 10 49 00, 7312 10 81 00, 7312 10 83 00, 7312 10 98 00, and 7312 10 65 00. The measures took effect from the date of publication of the notice. On August 17, 2007, Ukraine initiated an antidumping investigation into steel wire ropes and cables originating in China. On July 23, 2008, pursuant to Resolution No. AD-183/2008/143-48 of the Ukrainian Commission, Ukraine began imposing antidumping duties on the Chinese products concerned. Thereafter, Ukraine conducted two sunset reviews, and made affirmative rulings and extended the duty period on September 19, 2014 and May 28, 2020, respectively. On August 24, 2022, the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade of Ukraine issued a notice amending the product description of Chinese steel wire ropes and cables as determined in Resolution No. AD-183/2008/143-48 dated July 23, 2008. Upon application by a Ukrainian producer, and pursuant to Resolution No. AD-582/2025/441-01 of the Commission dated May 21, 2025, Ukraine initiated the third sunset review investigation of the antidumping measures on the Chinese products concerned. (Compiled from: Ukrainian Government Website) Source: https://ukurier.gov.ua/uk/news/povidomlennya-201/

[SMM Tin Morning Brief: The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Fluctuated Downward After Opening in the Night Session, and Spot Transactions Were Relatively Sluggish]

[SMM Cast Aluminum Alloy Morning Comment: Futures Prices Retreated After a Rapid Rise, and Market Divergence Intensified at High Levels] Overnight, the aluminum alloy 2604 contract opened higher and then fluctuated downward, opening at 23,770 yuan/mt, rising to 23,820 yuan/mt during the session, and then pulling back under pressure to a low of 23,525 yuan/mt before closing at 23,645 yuan/mt late in the session, down 80 yuan/mt from the previous settlement price, a decline of 0.34. Open interest edged up by 6 lots to 5,304 lots, with trading volume at 2,417 lots. Wait-and-see sentiment remained strong among market participants, and market divergence intensified at high levels.

Recently, Kawasaki Heavy Industries of Japan and Kobe Steel jointly announced that the world’s first next-generation hydrogen-fueled power generation system for hydrogen-based power generation had officially commenced operation. The system features a liquid hydrogen energy supply model and is designed to provide stable power for future large gas turbine generators, filling the global technological gap in direct liquid hydrogen supply for power generation. The newly commissioned system was developed under the NEDO-funded project in Japan, “Development of Technologies to Improve Hydrogen-Fueled Power Generation Efficiency and Performance Under the Hydrogen CGS Regional Model,” and was deployed at the Kobe Hydrogen Energy Center on Port Island in Kobe. It is the world’s first hydrogen supply power generation system to adopt an intermediate fluid vaporizer (IFV) for hydrogen together with a liquid hydrogen pump , enabling liquid hydrogen to be pressurized above critical pressure and directly supplying hydrogen fuel to power plants in a stable manner. The project had a clear division of responsibilities: Kawasaki Heavy Industries was responsible for optimizing the liquid hydrogen pressurization fuel supply system for gas turbine generators, while Kobe Steel focused on the R&D of IFV equipment utilizing the cold energy of liquid hydrogen. At present, demonstration tests have successfully delivered hydrogen fuel to a wet gas turbine, and subsequent hydrogen supply tests for a dry gas turbine will be carried out, with a focus on verifying operating performance under high summer temperature conditions as well as the long-term operational reliability of the liquid hydrogen pump.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Fluctuated, Rising First and Then Falling, While Spot Quotes Edged Lower and Transactions Recovered SMM News, March 17: SS futures moved sideways. During the day, SS futures rose first and then fell, overall maintaining a sideways movement pattern, and closed at 14,155 yuan/mt by the midday break. In the spot market, although SS futures were relatively strong in the morning, affected by the previous cuts in guidance prices by major stainless steel mills, trader quotes still edged slightly lower than yesterday. However, market sentiment had stabilized somewhat, and amid the price pullback, both inquiries and transactions increased to some extent. The most-traded SS futures contract fluctuated. As of 10:15 a.m., SS2605 was quoted at 14,220 yuan/mt, up 175 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi stood at 200-400 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi fell by 50 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled trim-edge 304/2B coils, the average price in Wuxi fell by 50 yuan/mt, and the average price in Foshan also fell by 50 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi were basically stable; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils were quoted basically stable in Wuxi; cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan were basically stable. As the traditional peak consumption season of "Golden March and Silver April" began, the stainless steel market entered a window for demand recovery, with downstream end-users gradually recovering. Recently, activity in inquiries and purchases increased markedly, but stainless steel spot prices overall remained basically stable, with no obvious fluctuations. End-user procurement was still mainly driven by rigid demand, and the full bustle of the peak season had yet to emerge, ...

[China Iron Ore Brief Comment: Iron Ore Concentrates Prices in Tangshan Might Have Some Room to Move Higher] Iron ore concentrates prices in Tangshan were relatively stable today, with the ex-factory prices of 66-grade dry-basis iron ore concentrates including tax at 970-980 yuan/mt. The intensity of environmental protection inspections weakened, and steel mills as well as ore beneficiation gradually resumed production, but producers turned cautious in their operations, market inquiries were not active, and beneficiation plants considered costs as well as inventory

[SMM Analysis] Freight Rates Surge, Making Deals Difficult for Steel Expor ters Affected by the US-Iran conflict, tight energy supply and sharply higher fuel costs, compounded by exchange rate fluctuations, have continuously pushed up China's export offers in recent days. Compared with the beginning of the month (March 6), SMM HRC prices have been raised by $9/mt; galvanizing prices rose by $11/mt; CRC rose by $5/mt; billet rose by $6/mt; and rebar rose by $6/mt. However, looking back at market transaction performance, deals weakened again recently. According to the SMM survey, ocean freight rates surged sharply, with current freight to the Middle East as high as $50-60. Most outside China clients remained on the sidelines; shipowners also refused to commit tonnage while waiting for the market to stabilize. For China exporters, there were offers but no market, making shipments difficult. Meanwhile, market sources said Hadeed, the GCC's only flat steel producer, raised its May hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices, still related to shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. HRC cargoes previously booked from China and other origins were also being redirected to the west coast, mainly heading to Jeddah Port, bringing high inland transportation costs. As for global steel prices, in India, in addition to rising raw material costs and rupee depreciation, a sudden LNG energy shortage further pushed up production costs, forcing steel mills to maintain a strong willingness to hold prices firm despite the traditional domestic off-season and blocked exports. In the Southeast Asian market, price increases were accepted entirely passively, mainly due to the rigid pass-through of high ocean freight rates by overseas suppliers. Although Southeast Asian buyers hesitated to take orders, they had no choice but to passively accept the increases against the backdrop of persistently high geopolitical logistics costs. At the same time, CIS export offers also rose significantly, benefiting from the intensifying geopolitical conflict in the Middle East and the resulting short-term global supply tightens. In the Middle East market, meanwhile, as war tensions continued to escalate, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz completely disrupted transportation, while freight rates and delivery uncertainty pushed the sheets & plates import markets in the UAE and Saudi Arabia into a complete standstill. Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM"), and SMM legally enjoys complete copyright and related intellectual property rights. The copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information property rights, and other related intellectual property rights of all content contained in this report (including but not limited to information, articles, data, charts, pictures, audio, video, logos, advertisements, trademarks, trade names, domain names, layout designs, etc.) are owned or held by SMM or its related right holders. The above rights are strictly protected by relevant laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China, such as the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, as well as applicable international treaties. Without prior written authorization from SMM, no institution or individual may: 1. Use all or part of this report in any form (including but not limited to reprinting, modifying, selling, transferring, displaying, translating, compiling, disseminating); 2. Disclose the content of this report to any third party; 3. License or authorize any third party to use the content of this report; 4. For any unauthorized use, SMM will legally pursue the legal responsibilities of the infringer, demanding that they bear legal responsibilities including but not limited to contractual breach liability, returning unjust enrichment, and compensating for direct and indirect economic losses. Data Source Statement: (Except for publicly available information, other data in this report are derived from publicly available information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, corporate financial reports, brokerage reports, data from the National Bureau of Statistics, customs import and export data, various data published by major associations and institutions, etc.), market exchanges, and comprehensive analysis and reasonable inferences made by the research team based on SMM's internal database models. This information is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice. SMM reserves the final interpretation right of the terms in this statement and the right to adjust and modify the content of the statement according to actual circumstances.