As of April 24, the mainstream price in the south China market — SMM A00 aluminum (Foshan) was at a discount of 345 yuan/mt against the 2605 contract, while the mainstream price in the east China market — SMM A00 aluminum was at a discount of 130 yuan/mt against the 2605 contract. The price spread between the two regions had exceeded 200 yuan/mt, covering sea freight, short-haul transfer, and logistics costs, officially opening up the transshipment window between Guangdong and Shanghai...

According to SMM data, as of April 24, social inventory of aluminum ingots in China's major consumption regions stood at 1.465 million mt, up 42,000 mt WoW, maintaining an inventory buildup trend for multiple consecutive weeks, with the pace of buildup widening again WoW. Weekly warehouse withdrawals rebounded slightly by 14,200 mt WoW to 115,200 mt, but the improvement in withdrawals fell short of the recent increase in arrivals, indicating clearly insufficient momentum for inventory drawdown..

SMM April 13 News: Data Brief: As of Monday, April 13, SMM copper inventories across major regions nationwide decreased 12.52% WoW from last Monday, marking five consecutive weeks of destocking. Specifically, in Shanghai, imported copper arrivals remained stable while domestic arrivals decreased somewhat; downstream buyers mainly made just-in-time procurement, and inventory destocked steadily. In Jiangsu, domestic arrivals declined, but the pace of warehouse withdrawals also slowed down simultaneously, with regional inventory basically stable. In Guangdong, the prior destocking trend continued, mainly supported by reduced arrivals and robust end-use consumption, with inventory continuing to pull back. Outlook: On the supply side, imported copper arrivals were intermittent, the pace of domestic arrivals slowed down, and an overall tight supply pattern is emerging. On the demand side, downstream buyers still mainly made just-in-time procurement, with overall consumption slowing down slightly compared to the previous period. According to survey data, the weekly operating rate of copper cathode rod is expected to decline to 75.58% this week, down 4.39 percentage points WoW. Considering both supply and demand sides, the market has formed a pattern of "tightening supply and phased stabilization of consumption," and social inventory is expected to continue destocking this week.

Entering the second half of March, regional divergence in China’s aluminum market became increasingly pronounced, with the divergence between inventory trends and spot price spreads in east China and south China intensifying. On the one hand, the nationwide post-holiday inventory buildup in aluminum gradually approached its end, inventory overhang pressure in east China continued to ease, circulation efficiency steadily improved, the inventory buildup momentum slowed down significantly, and.....

[SMM Magnesium Morning Meeting Summary: Magnesium Ingot Trading Sluggish and Stagnant, Magnesium Product Prices Generally Stable] Magnesium ingot quotations remain stable, trading is sluggish, inventory is divergent, downstream rigid demand is insufficient, and the market is in a stalemate. Magnesium alloy prices are stable, with tight supply-demand balance supporting firm processing fees; magnesium powder prices are slightly raised due to raw material support, but order follow-up is limited, and domestic trade procurement is mostly postponed to March.

Today, HRC futures prices saw a slight increase, with the most-traded contract closing at 3102, up 0.32% for the day. Trading activity was moderate throughout the day, with HRC quotations in major cities rising by 5-10 yuan/mt compared to yesterday, and overall trading volume was average. On the news front, macro-wise, the US-Japan trade negotiations fell through, with Trump and Ishiba failing to reach an agreement. On the fundamental side, the impact from HRC maintenance this week was 67,600 mt, a decrease of 66,200 mt WoW. The supply pressure for HRC continued to increase. According to data released by SMM today for Shanghai, Lecong, and Ningbo, inventories all saw slight declines. Inventories are expected to perform moderately this week. Downstream demand has shown some resilience compared to before. Overall, cost support remains relatively stable this week. Attention should still be paid to the impact of the Israel-Iran conflict on the ferrous metals series. Based solely on fundamentals, it is expected that the most-traded HRC contract will continue to fluctuate mainly within the 3000-3140 range.

Today, rebar futures fluctuated downward, closing at 2964, down 0.77% from the previous trading day. In terms of spot prices, spot quotes in most regions remained stable, with only a few regions experiencing a decline of around 10-20 yuan/mt. Trading volume throughout the day improved slightly compared to yesterday, mainly driven by low-priced resources. From a fundamental perspective, on the supply side, according to the SMM survey, due to the significant decline in finished steel prices in recent days, the economic benefits of electric furnace mills decreased on a WoW basis, prompting several steel mills to reduce their operating hours. However, as one electric furnace mill resumed production as planned, the national electric furnace operating rate this week reached 39.14%, up 0.68% WoW. Blast furnace steel mills, with still existing profit margins, maintained strong production enthusiasm, and the overall supply pressure remained high. On the demand side, the demand for construction materials is currently in the transition phase between the "off-season and peak season," showing insufficient resilience, with market purchases primarily driven by rigid demand. Overall, the current supply-demand imbalance is intensifying, and market sentiment is unlikely to improve. It is expected that spot prices of construction materials will consolidate in the short term.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated that China and the United States had reached multiple positive consensus during their economic and trade talks in Geneva, agreeing to significantly reduce bilateral tariff levels. The US side committed to removing 91% of tariffs and suspending the implementation of 24% reciprocal tariffs. Correspondingly, the Chinese side also removed 91% of retaliatory tariffs and suspended the implementation of 24% retaliatory tariffs, with both sides retaining 10% tariffs each. The US side, using fentanyl as a pretext, unreasonably imposed two rounds of tariffs on China, to which the Chinese side promptly took retaliatory measures, including tariff and non-tariff measures, to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. These retaliatory measures remain in effect.

【SMM Ningbo HRC Inventory】This week, the large sample inventory in Ningbo was 352,000 mt, down 2,600 mt WoW, a decline of 0.73%, and a YoY decline of 6.83%.

【SMM Lecong HRC Inventory】This week, Lecong inventory continued to significantly decrease. This week, Lecong HRC inventory was 70.7 mt, down 69,400 mt WoW, a decline of 7.25%; down 273,000 mt YoY, a YoY decline of 27.86%.