[Enterprise Shutdowns and Holidays, Zinc Oxide Operating Rates Continue to Decline] Order-wise, pre-holiday stockpiling by end-users across various sectors has largely concluded, with overall market trading remaining subdued and zinc oxide demand showing mediocre performance. Looking ahead to next week, the industry is expected to enter a full holiday cycle, with only a few large plants maintaining minimal production during the Chinese New Year period, while the majority of zinc oxide enterprises will gradually suspend operations for the holiday.

The seven-day Chinese New Year holiday for family reunions has ended, and February has arrived in the blink of an eye. Looking back at January, nickel prices initially rose and then declined, driven by news from the mining side and the approach of the year-end Chinese New Year holiday. As of January 27, the most-traded SHFE nickel contract closed at 124,150 yuan/mt, marking a monthly decline of 0.34%. Overall, nickel prices in January showed a fluctuating trend. At the beginning of the month, supported by market expectations of Indonesia reducing nickel ore export quotas, the cost side of refined nickel provided significant support, driving the most-traded SHFE nickel contract to rise after fluctuations. After mid-January, nickel prices began to weaken due to a combination of factors, including production cuts and reduced demand caused by enterprise shutdowns during the Chinese New Year holiday, as well as macroeconomic uncertainties surrounding tariff policies after Trump's inauguration and the persistently high US dollar index.

[SMM Weekly Survey on Aluminum Downstream: Operating Rates of Aluminum Processing Enterprises Dropped Significantly Before the Chinese New Year, Leading Enterprises Down 6.3% WoW] This week, the operating rate of leading domestic aluminum downstream processing enterprises continued to decline sharply by 6.3 percentage points WoW to 51.1%.