[Magnesium Prices Stuck in Dilemma: Geopolitical Tensions, Cost Support, and Demand Surge Clash with High Supply] Reviewing the recent magnesium market, magnesium prices repeatedly fluctuated within the 16,600-16,700 range, with a relatively slow pace.

SMM Nickel, March 20: Macro and Market News: (1) The Party Committee of the People's Bank of China held an enlarged meeting on March 18, which stated that it would continue to effectively implement a moderately accommodative monetary policy, firmly safeguard the stable operation of financial markets such as equities, bonds, and foreign exchange, and advance legislative formulation and amendments including the People's Bank of China Law and the Financial Stability Law. (2) The interest rate futures market priced in only 5.5 basis points of US Fed interest rate cuts this year, and bets on rate hikes began to emerge. Spot Market: On March 20, the SMM price of #1 refined nickel rose by 3,000 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In terms of spot premiums, the average price of Jinchuan #1 refined nickel was 6,550 yuan/mt, down 200 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the mainstream China electrodeposited nickel brands were quoted at -300-400 yuan/mt. Futures Market: The most-traded SHFE nickel contract (2605) staged a sharp rebound, closing the morning session at 134,780 yuan/mt, up 1.50. Yesterday, nickel prices once fell below the 130,000 yuan mark, as trades on expectations of a global economic recession triggered by escalating geopolitical conflict in the Middle East put the metals complex under pressure overall. Nickel prices then took the lead in rebounding sharply, recovering to around 135,000 yuan/mt in the morning session. Short term, sentiment from the macro perspective may continue to dominate the market, and nickel prices may maintain wide swings.

[Downstream Enterprises Actively Priced and Purchased, with Spot Transactions Improving Significantly During the Week]: This week, Ningbo spot premiums continued to rise, with the weekly average price up 20 yuan/mt WoW. As of this Friday, Ningbo spot prices against the 2604 contract were at a discount of 30 yuan/mt, with a premium of 50 yuan/mt against Shanghai, and the premium against Shanghai widened during the week..

Middle East tensions have sparked a massive steel trade "mismatch." Iran's blocked exports created a 2.3-million-ton billet vacuum in Southeast Asia, while the Red Sea crisis stalled China's flat steel shipments to the Gulf. Consequently, China and India are rapidly absorbing SEA's diverted billet orders. SMM projects that blocked flat steel returning to China's domestic market, combined with surging overseas billet demand, will accelerate the narrowing of the domestic HRC-rebar spread.

Platinum prices fluctuated upward today. In early trading, the most-traded platinum contract PT2606 on GFEX opened lower at 507.95 yuan/g, down 2.33 percent at the open, then fluctuated upward and closed the morning session at 523.85 yuan/g, up 0.73 percent. In the spot market, spot platinum was quoted at discounts of 7-9 yuan/g against PT2606, or at a discount of 2 yuan/g to parity against the SGE seller-1 price. Spot discounts were basically flat from the previous trading day. As for spot transactions, SMM learned that some traders reported more inquiries and actively purchased, while a few suppliers showed lower willingness to sell and held back cargo to maintain inventory. Downstream buyers negotiated purchases based on demand, and overall trading in the spot market was normal.

[Australian Typhoons Continued to Disrupt, and Import TCs Kept Falling]: Weekly data showed that the average weekly domestic SMM Zn50 TC held flat at 1,550 yuan/mt in metal content, while the SMM Imported Zinc Concentrate Index fell $6.02/dmt MoM to $5.23/dmt...

On the evening of March 18, 2026, at Chery Automobile Battery Night 2026 in Wuhu, Anhui, Chery unveiled its Rhino all-solid-state battery technology. It had completed the development and pilot production of a 60Ah, 400Wh/kg all-solid-state battery cell and was advancing toward an ultra-high energy density of 600Wh/kg.

SMM News, March 20: Overnight, LME lead opened at $1,911/mt. During the 9:00–12:00 session, LME lead fluctuated rangebound within $1,906–1,915/mt, holding up well overall and touching a high of $1,915.5/mt. After 12:00, LME lead turned into a unilateral downward trend, plunging to a low of $1,872.5/mt. During the night session, LME lead bottomed out, and by the close it fluctuated higher to repair losses to the $1,895–1,898/mt range, finally closing at $1,897/mt, down $16/mt, or 0.84%. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE lead 2605 contract opened at a low of 16,300 yuan/mt. In early trading, SHFE lead fluctuated upward and touched a high of 16,480 yuan/mt, then dropped back slightly and fluctuated rangebound within 16,395–16,460 yuan/mt. It finally closed at 16,435 yuan/mt, posting a small bullish candlestick, up 20 yuan/mt, or 0.12%. Yesterday, SHFE lead pulled back. Suppliers of primary lead showed average willingness to ship, while smelter quotes remained stable; supply in the secondary lead market was relatively ample, and smelters held prices firm on shipments, with overall transactions poor. Downstream battery plants maintained full production, mainly purchasing for rigid demand and long-term contracts, while spot order transactions were mediocre. SMM expects lead prices to remain in the doldrums with fluctuations in the short term.

[SMM Zinc Morning Comment] Overnight, the most-traded SHFE zinc 2605 contract opened lower with a gap at 22,350 yuan/mt, the intraday low. Subsequently, bulls added to open interest, and SHFE zinc fluctuated upward all the way, touching a high of 22,940 yuan/mt near the close and finally closing up at 22,860 yuan/mt, up 155 yuan/mt, or 0.68%. Trading volume fell to 93,582 lots, and open interest increased by 852 lots to 105,000 lots.

In 2026, the correction in lithium carbonate prices drove up lithium battery production costs. Coupled with uncertainties in lithium resources supply, cost pressure across the new energy industry became increasingly prominent. Leveraging the advantages of abundant sodium resources, balanced distribution, and controllable costs, sodium-ion batteries have leapt from being a “backup option” for lithium batteries to a key direction for industry breakthrough...