During the 2026 Labour Day holiday (May 1–5), the Chinese SHFE market was closed, and LME copper exhibited a fluctuating trend of initial decline followed by recovery......

During the 2026 Labour Day holiday, production arrangements among China's secondary copper rod enterprises showed a notable divergence, with some choosing to halt production for the holiday while others maintained normal operations

【SMM Analysis】 Why Are Chinese Lead-Acid Battery Enterprises Taking More Holidays for the 2026 Labor Day? As the Labor Day holiday approaches at the end of April, SMM conducted a survey on holiday arrangements among lead-acid battery enterprises across 10 provinces in China.

Ahead of the Labour Day holiday, SMM surveyed galvanising enterprises on their holiday arrangements. This survey covered 27 galvanising enterprises with a total capacity of 20.10 million mt. According to SMM, some enterprises will take 1-13 days off during the Labour Day holiday, while others will maintain normal production without any break, with an estimated total impact on zinc consumption of approximately 5,785 mt.

As the Labour Day holiday approaches, SMM communicated with galvanized sheet enterprises regarding their holiday arrangements. The survey covered 20 galvanized sheet enterprises with a combined capacity of 17.06 million mt/year, affecting zinc consumption of 243 mt

[Strait Blockade Remains in Stalemate, LME Outperforms SHFE for Aluminum] Overall, the strait blockade continued. The supply gap outside China and the ongoing drawdown of LME inventory supported LME prices to hold up well, while China's aluminum ingot inventory remained at elevated levels. Attention should be paid to whether a turning point in domestic inventory can materialize smoothly.

Secondary Zinc Oxide Production Fell in February, While Secondary Zinc Oxide Payables Remained Relatively Firm. What Trend Will Secondary Zinc Oxide Show in March?

【SMM Analysis: Chinese New Year Holiday Production Resumption at Copper Cathode Rod Enterprises in 2026】Following the Chinese New Year holiday, the resumption of production at domestic copper cathode rod enterprises proceeded in an orderly manner, with the overall pace largely consistent with pre-holiday arrangements, with only a few individual enterprises showing deviations.......

[Operating Rates Down Over 20 Percentage Points MoM, Die-Casting Zinc Alloy Enters Chinese New Year Lull] This week, operating rates of die-casting zinc alloy producers fell sharply, mainly due to concentrated holiday arrangements at large plants during the week, leading to a sharp drop in operating rates. It is expected that next week, enterprises still in production will also arrange holidays successively by the end of this week, and operating rates of die-casting zinc alloy producers will decline further...

The spot copper market in Shandong has entered the Chinese New Year holiday period. Downstream enterprises in the province have completed pre-holiday stockpiling based on orders and holiday arrangements. Coupled with tightening logistics capacity, overall market trading is sluggish. As of Thursday, the average spot premiums/discounts were reported at a discount of 270 yuan/mt.