[SMM Update] SHFE data showed that on May 7, the total registered cast aluminum alloy warrants were 33,431 mt, a decrease of 393 mt from the previous trading day. By region: Shanghai 1,999 mt (no change), Guangdong 10,457 mt (decrease of 243 mt), Jiangsu 5,999 mt (no change), Zhejiang 9,687 mt (no change), Chongqing 4,143 mt (no change), and Sichuan 1,146 mt (decrease of 150 mt).

[SMM Aluminum Express News] TA’ZIZ and Emirates Global Aluminium have signed a long-term agreement for the supply of 200,000 DMT per year of caustic soda, a key input for alumina refining. Starting in Q4 2028, TA’ZIZ will become the first domestic supplier of caustic soda to EGA’s Al Taweelah alumina refinery in Abu Dhabi, strengthening raw material security and reducing import dependence across the UAE aluminum supply chain.

SMM reported on May 7 that the SHFE aluminum 2505 contract fell sharply in early trading. The spot aluminum ingot markets in central China and east China saw trading sentiment weaken again, dragged down by lackluster buying interest, with transaction prices continuing to decline.

SMM May 7: Metals market: As of the midday close, base metals in the domestic market showed mixed performance. SHFE copper rose 0.43%, SHFE aluminum fell 1.76%, SHFE lead fell 0.36%, SHFE zinc rose 0.41%, SHFE tin rose 3.16%, and SHFE nickel fell 3.33%. In addition, the most-traded casting aluminum futures fell 1.85%, the most-traded alumina contract rose 0.49%, the most-traded lithium carbonate contract rose 0.08%, the most-traded silicon metal contract rose 2.03%, and the most-traded polysilicon futures rose 4.79%. Ferrous metals showed mixed performance. Iron ore rose 0.55%, rebar rose 0.68%, hot-rolled coil rose 0.29%, and stainless steel fell 1.12%. Coking coal and coke: the most-traded coking coal contract fell 1.22%, and the most-traded coke contract fell 1.2%. Overseas base metals, as of 11:41, LME metals mostly fell. LME copper fell 0.22%, LME aluminum fell 1.16%, LME lead rose 0.23%, LME zinc fell 0.29%, LME tin fell 1.71%, and LME nickel fell 0.13%. Precious metals, as of 11:41, COMEX gold rose 0.39% and COMEX silver rose 1.35%. Domestic precious metals: the most-traded SHFE gold contract rose 1.11%, and the most-traded SHFE silver contract rose 3.43%. In addition, as of the midday close, the most-traded platinum futures rose 3.21%, and the most-traded palladium futures rose 1.71%. As of the midday close, the most-traded Europe containerized freight index contract fell 3.35%, closing at 2,355.5 points. As of 11:41 on May 7, midday futures quotes for selected contracts: Spot cargo and fundamentals Nickel: On May 7, SMM #1 refined nickel prices fell 5,050 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums: Jinchuan #1 refined nickel averaged 1,150 yuan/mt, down 100 yuan/mt from the previous trading day... Macro front China: [PBOC reverse repo operations resulted in a net drain of 99.2 billion yuan for the day] The PBOC conducted 27 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repo operations today. As 126.2 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repos matured today, a net drain of 99.2 billion yuan was achieved for the day. [HKEX CEO: LME warehouses in Hong Kong nearing full capacity] HKEX CEO Bonnie Y. Chan said that the storage capacity of a series of LME-approved warehouses in Hong Kong was nearing saturation. The LME began approving metal warehouses in Hong Kong last year. Speaking at a seminar during LME Asia Week in Hong Kong, Chan said the LME currently had 15 warehouses in Hong Kong, compared with just 4 a year ago. She called this an important milestone in establishing physical market connectivity. LME and Hong Kong Exchanges will explore more collaborative projects, including futures and RMB-denominated products, to build a comprehensive commodities ecosystem in Asia. (Jin10 Data) US dollar: As of 11:41, the US dollar index fell 0.01% to 98.01. Chicago Fed President Goolsbee said on Wednesday that the war with Iran increasingly appeared to be an inflationary shock to the economy. Although the impact on employment and economic growth was not yet evident, concerns about supply chain disruptions and sustained price increases were intensifying. "This is not yet a 'stagflation' shock," meaning the kind that hits the job market while pushing up inflation and forces the US Fed to decide which of its policy objectives faces greater risk, Goolsbee said after attending the Milken Institute conference in Los Angeles. "This is just an inflation shock. And the longer this persists, the more uneasy I become." According to CME "FedWatch": the probability of the US Fed keeping rates unchanged through June was 93.5%, with a cumulative 25-basis-point interest rate cut probability of 6.5%. The probability of the US Fed keeping rates unchanged through July was 86.5%, with cumulative probabilities of a 25-basis-point cut at 13.0% and a 50-basis-point cut at 0.5%. (Jin10 Data) Other currencies: On the first day of resumed trading in the Japanese market, the yen broadly stabilized against other G10 currencies and Asian currencies. However, analysts noted that the yen's downside room against the US dollar is likely to be limited due to potential foreign exchange intervention by Japanese authorities. Analysts at Maybank stated in a foreign exchange research report that the unpredictability of Japanese authorities' actions would limit the upside room for USD/JPY in the short term. Given that three suspected interventions have already occurred after the currency pair breached the 157.00 level, the market is now increasingly wary of pushing the dollar above that level. (Jin10 Data) Data: China's April foreign exchange reserves (TBD), US April Challenger enterprise layoffs, US initial jobless claims for the week ending May 2, US March construction spending MoM, US April New York Fed 1-year inflation expectations, Eurozone March retail sales MoM, France March trade balance, and Switzerland April seasonally adjusted unemployment rate are scheduled for release today. In addition, 2027 FOMC voter and Chicago Fed President Goolsbee will participate in a panel discussion at a conference. Crude oil: As of 11:41, oil prices in both markets rose, with WTI up 0.86% and Brent up 0.87%. The market weighed the prospects of a Middle East peace agreement. A decline in US crude oil inventory last week supported oil prices. US EIA Cushing, Oklahoma crude oil inventory for the week ending May 1 was -648,000 barrels, compared to the previous value of -796,000 barrels. US EIA crude oil inventory for the week ending May 1 was -2.313 million barrels, versus expectations of -3.291 million barrels and a previous value of -6.234 million barrels. US EIA Strategic Petroleum Reserve inventory for the week ending May 1 was -5.224 million barrels, compared to the previous value of -7.121 million barrels. According to federal data released Wednesday, US energy inventories continued to decline rapidly due to supply shocks caused by the Middle East war, highlighting the tightening supply problem as the energy crisis continued to spread. According to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), refined product inventories, including diesel, plunged by 1.3 million barrels last week to the lowest level since April 2003. These inventories are currently 11% below the five-year seasonal average. Due to refinery shutdowns, diesel prices recently hit record highs in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. (CNN) According to a person familiar with the matter, the Trump administration is exploring the use of oil resources beneath US military bases and other Department of Defense sites to replenish the nation's dwindling emergency reserves. The source said no decision has been made on this potential move. This comes as the US government has pledged to explore innovative ways to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which was further depleted during the Iran war. (Jin10 Data) According to a foreign media survey, OPEC's crude oil production fell to a 36-year low last month as the ongoing Iran war continued to obstruct Persian Gulf exports and forced more oil fields to shut down. The survey showed that OPEC's April crude oil production decreased by 420,000 barrels per day to 20.55 million barrels per day, the lowest level since 1990, mainly dragged down by further production declines in Kuwait and Iran. The survey showed that Kuwait saw the largest production drop last month, with daily output falling by 470,000 barrels to 800,000 barrels per day, less than one-third of pre-war levels. The country's exports have fallen to just 22,000 barrels per day. Iran followed, with production declining by 180,000 barrels per day to 3.05 million barrels per day, doubling the cumulative production cuts since the war began. OPEC also suffered another blow last week. The UAE announced its withdrawal from the organization, following years of friction with the group's leader Saudi Arabia over production limits. The April survey still included UAE data, as the UAE's withdrawal did not officially take effect until May 1. (Bloomberg) Spot market overview: ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ► ►

[SMM Aluminum Update] According to SMM statistics, as of this Thursday, the social inventory of secondary aluminum alloy ingots in China's major consumption regions stood at 57,200 mt, up 400 mt WoW, marking four consecutive weeks of inventory buildup. Under off-season conditions, demand remained sluggish. Slow warehouse withdrawals, coupled with an accelerating shift from producer inventory to social inventory, meant that inventory destocking pressure persisted.

[SMM Aluminum Express News] Metro Mining mined 563,000 WMT of bauxite in April 2026 at its Bauxite Hills Mine in North Queensland, up 33% year-on-year despite disruptions from Tropical Cyclone Narelle. The company shipped 416,000 WMT during the month, down 2% year-on-year, while building stockpiles ahead of increased throughput from the return of the Ikamba offshore floating terminal.

SMM May 7 update: The SHFE aluminum 2605 contract fluctuated downward in early trading, with the overall price center moving lower compared to the previous trading day. Current invoicing constraints led to a contraction in market trade shipments. Downstream buyers adopted a stronger wait-and-see sentiment today, with purchase willingness cooling. Dragged by weak spot buying, mainstream transactions in the market were concentrated around SMM A00 aluminum minus 10 yuan/mt to the average price. Today, the east China market shipment sentiment index was 2.65, down 0.01 MoM; the purchase sentiment index was 2.6, down 0.2 MoM. The trading atmosphere in the central China market weakened further compared to the previous day, with overall invoicing quotas continuing to decline and insufficient market trading confidence. Buyers mostly concentrated between 8:00 and 8:30 AM. Suppliers initially showed strong willingness to hold prices firm, but subsequent transactions were sluggish, with quotes trending lower. Transaction prices for invoiced shipments on the day were slightly higher than normal shipments. The actual transaction price range in the central China market was concentrated between central China price plus 20 yuan and central China price minus 10 yuan, with mainstream transactions at central China price plus 10 yuan. Today, the central China market shipment sentiment index was 2.82, down 0.01 MoM; the purchase sentiment index was 2.27, down 0.01 MoM. Inventory side, aluminum ingot inventory in major consumption areas fell 0.35 WoW today, with all three regions showing a destocking trend.

1 Procurement Conditions The purchaser of this procurement project, Ferrosilicon and Other Items (BG2026040318)/Low-Aluminum Ferrosilicon (BGBCGFHGXHD260506285829), is the Raw Material Procurement Department of the Procurement Center of Bensteel Sheets & Plates Co., Ltd. The project funds are self-raised. This project has met the procurement conditions, and an open inquiry and comparison is now being conducted. 2 Project Overview and Procurement Scope 2.1 Project Name: Ferrosilicon and Other Items (BG2026040318)/Low-Aluminum Ferrosilicon 2.2 Conversion to other procurement methods upon procurement failure: conversion to direct procurement, conversion to negotiated procurement 2.3 The procurement content, scope, and scale of this project are detailed in the attachment "Material List Attachment.pdf". 3 Bidder Qualification Requirements 3.1 Joint venture bidding is not permitted for this procurement. 3.2 This procurement requires bidders to possess the following qualification requirements: (1) Business license for trading enterprises (2) Business license for manufacturing enterprises 3.3 This procurement requires bidders to meet the following registered capital requirements: Registered capital for manufacturing enterprises: 10,000,000.0 yuan and above Registered capital for trading enterprises: 10,000,000.0 yuan and above 3.4 This procurement requires bidders to possess the following performance requirements: See attachment 3.5 This procurement requires bidders to possess the following capability requirements, financial requirements, and other requirements: Financial requirements: See attachment Capability requirements: See attachment Other requirements: Performance bond - See attachment 3.6 For projects that are required by law to undergo tender and bid, bids from persons subject to enforcement for breach of trust shall be invalid in this procurement. 4 Obtaining Procurement Documents 4.1 All parties interested in bidding shall log in to the Ansteel Smart Tender and Bid Platform at http://bid.ansteel.cn to download the electronic procurement documents from 08:00 on May 7, 2026 to 08:00 on May 15, 2026 (Beijing time, the same hereinafter). Click to view tender details:

Egyptalum has signed an agreement with Trafigura to study the expansion of its Nag Hammadi aluminum smelter in Egypt, with an initial investment of about USD 900 million. The project includes a new 300,000-tonne-per-year primary aluminum smelter and a 150,000-tonne-per-year anode plant, which would nearly double the company’s current output. Under the agreement, a new project company will be established to develop and operate the facility, while Trafigura will participate as a minority investor, financing provider and long-term feedstock and offtake partner. The company said the project will strengthen Egypt’s position in the global aluminum industry chain.

AGI Greenpac has started construction of its aluminum beverage can manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh, India, with an investment of about INR 10 billion (USD 105 million). The 34-acre project is expected to begin operations by June 2027 with an initial capacity of 1.3 billion cans per year, expandable to 1.6 billion and eventually over 2 billion cans annually. The company said the facility will use advanced high-speed production systems to supply ready-to-drink beverages, energy drinks, beer and soft drinks. Rising premiumization, urban demand and sustainable packaging trends continue to support growth in India’s aluminum can market.