[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] News-Driven Disturbances Pushed SS Futures Higher to Test the Upside, Confidence in the Stainless Steel Spot Market Gradually Recovered SMM News, March 24: SS futures rose strongly. Affected by market fluctuations triggered by news of geopolitical conflict yesterday, SS futures rose sharply in the night session, and the daytime session maintained a fluctuating but relatively strong trend, closing at 14,290 yuan/mt by midday. In the spot market, boosted by the sharp rise in SS futures, market confidence somewhat recovered; although the increase in traders' spot quotations was limited, both inquiries and transactions showed signs of recovery during the week. The current market is heavily disturbed by news factors, and changes in the geopolitical conflict still need close attention. The most-traded SS futures contract strengthened and moved higher. At 10:15 a.m., SS2605 was quoted at 14,305 yuan/mt, up 125 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi were in the range of 115-315 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi rose by 50 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled trim-edge 304/2B coils, the average price in Wuxi rose by 50 yuan/mt, while the average price in Foshan was unchanged; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi were unchanged; for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils, Wuxi quotations were unchanged; cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan were also unchanged. As the market entered the traditional peak consumption season of "Golden March and Silver April," although the stainless steel market ushered in a seasonal recovery window, end-use demand fell short of expectations, downstream wait-and-see sentiment gradually intensified, and the procurement side only maintained a restocking pace for rigid demand, with none of the transaction momentum typically seen in the peak season emerging. The market's view on stainless steel prices...

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Stopped Falling and Rebounded, Stainless Steel Spot Quotations Rose in Tandem SMM News, March 20: SS futures stopped falling and rebounded. Base metals futures generally recovered, with SS futures showing particularly strong performance and basically recouping this week’s losses, closing at 14,160 yuan/mt by the midday close. In the spot market, driven by the strong rebound in SS futures and coupled with stainless steel mill agents’ efforts to hold prices firm, stainless steel retail quotations also moved higher accordingly; supported by improving market sentiment, both inquiry activity and trading picked up. High-grade NPI prices remained in the doldrums, and the steel mill tender price for high-carbon ferrochrome was announced below market expectations, leaving weak cost support for stainless steel. The most-traded SS futures contract stopped falling and recovered. At 10:15 a.m., SS2605 was quoted at 14,150 yuan/mt, up 220 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi were in the 220-420 yuan/mt range. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi rose by 50 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled trimmed 304/2B coil, the average price in Wuxi rose by 100 yuan/mt, and the average price in Foshan rose by 50 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in Wuxi was flat; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil quotations in Wuxi were unchanged; cold-rolled 430/2B coil in both Wuxi and Foshan held steady. Entering the traditional September-October peak season, although the stainless steel market ushered in a seasonal recovery window, end-use demand fell short of expectations, downstream wait-and-see sentiment gradually intensified, and procurement only...

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak said in a statement that he assured the Hungarian foreign minister that there would be no interruption to the flow of gas through the TurkStream gas pipeline.

Tesla's Berlin factory resumes full production On February 12 local time, Tesla's Berlin factory has resumed full production as planned. Earlier, the blockade of the Red Sea-Maned Strait frontline by Houthi forces caused shipping between Asia and Europe to bypass the Suez Canal and instead take the Cape of Good Hope route. As Tesla's production in the Berlin factory relies on components and batteries from China, it was also affected and had to be shut down for two weeks. Earlier, according to Reuters, the weekly production capacity of the Berlin factory had risen to 6,000 vehicles, so the production interruption this time caused a potential loss of about 12,000 vehicles.

[Underground Operations at Kakula Mine Suspended Again; Ivanhoe and Zijin Advance Remediation Efforts] According to latest announcement from Ivanhoe Mines, underground mining activities at Kakula Mine were suspended again on Saturday, May 25, 2025, following intermittent seismic activity in recent days. All employees have been safely evacuated, and mobile equipment has been withdrawn from the mine. Seismic events may persist for several weeks, limiting access to the underground workings and prolonging the temporary shutdown. Ivanhoe President and CEO Marna Cloete stated, “While underground mining at Kakula is temporarily halted, our focus is on maintaining water management infrastructure and accelerating the procurement of surface dewatering equipment. We have sufficient flexibility to continue supplying the Kakula concentrators from surface stockpiles and may temporarily redeploy personnel and equipment to the Kamoa Mine.” Surface infrastructure at Kakula—including Phase 1 and Phase 2 concentrators and the direct-to-blister smelter—remains unaffected. Both concentrators are currently processing ore from stockpiles. Operations at the Kamoa underground mine and the adjacent Phase 3 concentrator continue without interruption. The 2025 production and cost guidance for the Kamoa-Kakula project, along with the ramp-up schedule for the smelter, have been withdrawn pending further assessment. Ivanhoe and Zijin remain committed to restoring operations as soon as it's safe to do so.

Rio Tinto announced its production performance for the first quarter of 2023.

On Tuesday, the most-traded SHFE tin SN2505 contract fluctuated downward during the day and continued to decline at night, while LME tin closed lower. Spot market: It was heard that small brands were at a discount of 200 to a premium of 100 yuan/mt for May, Yunzi brands were at a premium of 100 to 300 yuan/mt for May, and Yuntin was at a premium of 300 to 500 yuan/mt for May. Yunnan Tin: In 2024, the ore volume was 258 million mt, with tin metal content of 626,200 mt, copper metal content of 1.1499 million mt, zinc metal content of 3.661 million mt, indium content of 4,821 mt, tungsten trioxide content of 77,800 mt, lead metal content of 96,300 mt, and silver content of 2,460 mt. Overall, the earthquake delayed the expected resumption of production in Wa State, the resumption time of the Bisie mine in the DRC remains unclear, and the smelting in Malaysia was halted due to natural gas interruption with an uncertain resumption time. There are many disturbances in both the mine and smelting sectors, and the supply-demand imbalance is prominent. In Q2, cost support is expected to be strong. In the short term, futures prices are under pressure due to tariff impacts, and after the release of macro risks, a low-buy strategy is still preferred. (Source: Jinyuan Futures)

On 13 April 2024, the United States and the United Kingdom announced new trade restrictions against Russian aluminium, copper, and nickel, prohibiting the London Metal Exchange (LME) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) from accepting these metals produced in Russia from 13 April onwards. Moreover,......

【Market Review】The SHFE tin index experienced a significant pullback on Monday, in line with expectations. 【Industry Performance】Malaysia Smelting Corporation (MSC) announced that its tin smelter located in Pulau Indah will temporarily halt production due to a gas pipeline explosion near Putra Heights. The explosion occurred on April 1, 2025, disrupting gas supply and affecting the normal operation of the smelting facilities near Port Klang in Pulau Indah. Due to the gas supply interruption, MSC has declared a suspension of production effective immediately until further notice. Currently, there is no specific timetable for the restoration of gas supply. MSC's refined tin production in 2024 was 16,300 mt, making it the fifth-largest refined tin producer globally. MSC stated that this incident may lead to delays in the delivery of some tin metal. 【Core Logic】The sharp decline in tin prices on Monday was a catch-up to the overseas market's abnormal movements caused by US tariff policies during the Qingming period. The underlying reasons include: 1. The actual tariff rates deviated from investors' previous expectations. 2. Global stock markets were significantly impacted, which also affected the futures market. 3. Inflation expectations were revisited. 4. Global economic growth may fall short of expectations. Looking ahead, tin prices may still need several trading sessions to digest the impact of the tariff policies before gradually stabilizing. Some countries have already proposed countermeasures against US tariff policies, while others are still in the process of deliberation. As more tariff policies are implemented, trade protectionism may become more pronounced, potentially exerting greater pressure on global demand. The short-term price collapse effect has not yet ended, and both the stock and futures markets will require several trading sessions to digest the sentiment. 【Nanhua Perspective】Tin prices may continue to experience a slight downward adjustment. (Source: Nanhua Futures)

This week (1.31-2.6), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises was 27.36%, down by 15.48 percentage points compared to the last week before the Chinese New Year and 23.3 percentage points lower than the first week after the Chinese New Year in 2024 (due to differences in the number of working days). According to SMM, most enterprises in the industry resumed work as planned on the eighth day of the lunar calendar, while a few extended their holiday until the tenth day. With only two working days this week, the operating rate of copper wire and cable enterprises remained at a low level. During the holiday, some enterprises with ultra-high voltage orders continued production without interruption. Currently, new orders in the market have not yet materialized, and end-user enterprises are also gradually resuming operations. Enterprises generally expect new orders to emerge after the Lantern Festival. Additionally, the post-holiday rise in copper prices has dampened downstream customers' purchasing sentiment. From the inventory perspective, the current raw material inventory of enterprises is 23.73% lower than the first week after the Chinese New Year in 2024, while finished product inventories are almost unchanged. Regarding orders on hand, some enterprises reported receiving a significant number of power generation-related orders before the Chinese New Year, sufficient to meet their near-term production needs. Although power grid-related orders were tendered by the end of 2024, actual orders may not be placed until March. Overall, copper wire and cable enterprises are unlikely to return to normal levels in February. Before the Lantern Festival, as some workers are still returning to work, SMM expects the operating rate of copper wire and cable enterprises to rebound by 21.52 percentage points to 48.88% next week, though still 16.41 percentage points lower than the same period last year (the second week after the Chinese New Year).