Inter-product price spreads are a segment of the rebar spread system characterized by complex logic and abundant trading opportunities. Unlike the spot-futures price spread, which reflects the spot-futures structure, and calendar spreads, which reflect near- and far-term expectations, the core of inter-product price spreads lies in macroeconomic structural adjustment and profit distribution across the industry chain. From the perspective of the industry chain, inter-product price spreads for long steel products are mainly concentrated in the following four areas:

This week, ferrous metals retreated after a rapid rise. At the beginning of the week, the market said that Asia had shifted to coal-fired power generation due to a natural gas supply deficit, while Indonesia would increase coal production and impose export taxes. The rise in international coal prices was transmitted to China, and coking coal and coke led the gains in ferrous metals; mid-week, the Middle East situation remained volatile, and the U.S. and Iran held differing attitudes toward war, with ferrous metals consolidating at high levels; the pullback in the second half of the week was also mainly due to the weakening of the cost-side logic, as market rumors said long-term iron ore contract negotiations had been completed, expectations for tightening iron ore supply declined, and raw materials turned into the main driver of the pullback. In the spot market, speculative trading and end-user purchase sentiment improved in the first half of the week, while rigid demand remained dominant in the second half, and the spot-futures price spread widened somewhat......

This week, ferrous metals held up well within a narrow range. Over the weekend, turmoil in the Middle East and the escalation of the U.S.-Iran conflict triggered wild swings in the international energy market, sending energy and precious metals sharply higher, while ferrous metals—except coking coal and coke—mostly retreated after rapid rise following the open; mid-week, although there were bullish expectations around the Two Sessions, no new news emerged, the steel market remained relatively stable, and the pattern of raw materials outperforming finished steel products continued; in the latter half of the week, the Two Sessions’ macro conclusions met expectations, but had already been priced in by futures earlier, and high-level fluctuations in international oil prices continued to support raw materials, in turn pushing ferrous metals to edge higher on a steady footing. In the spot market, in the second week after the holiday, the market gradually resumed work and resumed production, but with insufficient momentum from futures, overall willingness to purchase was not high, and transactions were mainly concluded at low prices......

Recycling Today reports that nonferrous markets began 2026 with notable volatility, with copper prices nearing record highs before moderating, while aluminum and zinc also saw fluctuating gains and retreats. In the copper scrap segment, global demand remains healthy despite softer U.S. demand. A Midwest scrap processor noted that high-grade scrap such as No. 1 bare bright copper fetched stronger prices, leading to unprecedented export volumes to India, Japan, and South Korea. Domestic consumers may soon recognize tighter apparent supply conditions.

This week, ferrous metals were in the doldrums. There were no significant macro disturbances during the week. The pullback in the US dollar index led to a rebound in nonferrous metals and the A-share market, but ferrous metals did not follow the trend noticeably. Instead, pressure from bears weighed on finished steel prices. On the spot market, most markets have already entered a holiday shutdown. Spot prices remained basically stable, while market transactions contracted sharply...

This week, ferrous metals were in the doldrums, with coking coal and coke staging a mid-week rise. At the beginning of the week, financial markets experienced sharp fluctuations, dragging down sentiment in the ferrous chain and leading to a pullback in futures. Mid-week, Indonesia's cut to coke production quotas drove coking coal and coke futures to lead the gains, though the impact was more pronounced on thermal coal, while coking coal's rise was largely sentiment-driven and short-lived. In the latter part of the week, finished products continued their seasonal inventory buildup, and support from the raw material side weakened, causing the entire ferrous chain to pull back. In the spot market, with the Chinese New Year holiday approaching, purchasing activity slowed down further, with end-users only making limited, as-needed purchases at low prices.

China will enter Lunar New Year holidays next week, with logistics and scrap traders suspending operations, ending pre-holiday restocking. As the world’s largest copper scrap consumer steps back, demand across Asia has weakened. South Korea has seen clearer pressure, with No.2 scrap discounts falling from around 90% to 88%–89%. Japan, without a holiday shutdown, shows only a mild adjustment of about 0.5% in discounts.

At the 2025 SMM (2nd) Global Renewable Metal Industry Chain Summit - Main Forum hosted by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd., Allen Cui, Director of SMM Nonferrous Consulting, shared insights on the topic of "Prospects for the Development of the Global Secondary Metal Industry."

On June 13, the 2025 SMM (2nd) Global Secondary Metals Industry Summit Forum , hosted by SMM, successfully concluded at the Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit! The event brought together industry representatives and experts from multiple regions and countries, including India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Africa. They engaged in brainstorming sessions on hot topics such as changes in the global supply-demand pattern of the secondary metals industry, global secondary metals industry development trends and challenges from a Middle Eastern perspective, in-depth analysis of the strengths and challenges in India, the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia, the battery resource market in Southeast Asia: supply chain dynamics, the current situation and future challenges of the secondary lead industry in Southeast Asia, the development of the global secondary metals supply-demand pattern from an Indian perspective, and secondary copper and aluminum scrap yards: innovative recycling and sorting technologies to support the industry's green and carbon-reduction journey. Cui Suoye, Director of SMM Nonferrous Consulting, shared insights on the topic of "changes in the global supply-demand pattern of the secondary metals industry." Regarding secondary aluminum, he stated that over the past decade, the proportion of secondary aluminum production in developed countries such as North America, South America, Europe, and Japan has been significantly higher than that in developing countries. As developing countries benchmark against developed countries, their future potential for aluminum scrap demand will be even more substantial. From 2022 to 2042, SMM expects the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of extruded aluminum scrap to reach approximately 5%. By 2042, extruded aluminum scrap is projected to account for about 33% of total aluminum scrap. Regarding secondary copper, he mentioned that SMM forecasts the global copper scrap market size to grow at a CAGR of 4.2% from 2024 to 2030. Wu Xiaoyun, Chairman of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Lead-Acid Battery Industry Alliance, shared his views on "the current situation and transformation path of the secondary lead industry in Southeast Asia." He emphasized that the construction of a recycling system is closely linked to the healthy development of the secondary lead industry. The healthy development of the secondary lead industry relies on mutual support across the industry chain, rational government planning and policy support, as well as industry self-discipline and self-regulation. Xie Xiaoying, Director of Sustainable Development Business at Shanghai Lvran Environmental Information Technology Co., Ltd., introduced the topic of "the development path of the global secondary metals industry driven by the ESG context." She pointed out that despite the numerous challenges faced by the secondary metals industry, investing in advanced technologies can effectively handle various complex materials while reducing processing costs. To ensure supply chain reliability, manufacturers may adopt vertical integration strategies in key markets, which, however, will increase operational costs. In addition, the price of scrap metal is usually referenced against the market price of the relevant primary metal. Carbon pricing and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) can help enhance the economic benefits of underutilized scrap metal resources. 》Click to view the live photo stream link 》Click to view the special coverage of this conference Opening Remarks Speakers: Fan Xin, Chairman of SMM Li Shilong, President of China Renewable Resources Industry Technology Innovation Alliance Award Ceremony Main Forum Guest Speeches Speech Topic: Green Transformation and Sustainable Development Prospects of Thailand's Recycled Metal Industry Guest Speaker: Secretary General of ASEAN Institution of Recycling (AIR) Dr. Somthai Wongcharoen The Thailand Recyclers Trade Association is composed of major recycling enterprises in Thailand, including smelting companies, wholesale collection enterprises, and import-export companies. In terms of metal scrap, association members handle high-value metals such as copper, primary aluminum, lead, as well as lead-acid batteries and EV batteries. Additionally, they also recycle electronic waste, such as PCB boards, extracting precious metals like gold, palladium, and copper. Enterprises within the association recognize the importance of the recycled metal industry to Thailand's future development, making metal recycling models very popular domestically. By relying on renewable resources, Thailand is expected to effectively address the challenges posed by climate change. 》Green Transformation and Sustainable Development Prospects of Thailand's Recycled Metal Industry Speech Topic: Strengthening International Exchanges to Promote Green Development of China's Non-Ferrous Recycled Metals Guest Speaker: Li Shilong, President of China Renewable Resources Industry Technology Innovation Alliance Interview with Top Entrepreneurs in the Recycled Metal Industry Moderator: Li Shilong, President of China Renewable Resources Industry Technology Innovation Alliance Guests: Zhu Zhanhong, HR and Administrative Director of Daizheng Daji Metal (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Zhang Junbing, Global Procurement Director of Hailiang Group Co., Ltd. Qin Xinghong, General Manager of P.C. WOOD PRODUCTS CO., LTD. Liu Qingcheng, Deputy General Manager and Director of Thai-Chinese Non-Ferrous Metals International Co., Ltd. Speech Topic: The Path to Global Development of the Recycled Metal Industry Driven by the ESG Context Guest Speaker: Xie Xiaoying, Director of Sustainability Business at Shanghai Lvran Environmental Information Technology Co., Ltd. Key ESG Risks Environment: Heavy metal pollution, water scarcity, climate impacts, waste. Social: Land/resettlement conflicts, labor rights, community health and safety. Governance: Compliance gaps, ethics, weak grievance mechanisms. ESG Accelerator Highlights the factors driving ESG compliance and sustainability (investors, regulations, and supply chains). Recycled Metals Emphasizes the role of recycled metals as a core ESG solution. Remaining Challenges Obstacles still hinder the full implementation of ESG, such as gaps in metal recycling technology, supply stability issues, and the lack of pricing mechanisms to calculate ESG value. The Path to Global Secondary Metals Industry Development Driven by the ESG Context Speech Topic: Changes in the Global Supply-Demand Pattern of the Secondary Metals Industry Guest Speaker: Cui Suoye, Director of SMM Nonferrous Consulting Cui Suoye, Director of SMM Nonferrous Consulting, shared insights on the topic of "Changes in the Global Supply-Demand Pattern of the Secondary Metals Industry." Regarding secondary aluminum, he stated that over the past decade, the proportion of secondary aluminum production in developed countries such as North America, South America, Europe, and Japan has been significantly higher than that in developing countries. For developing countries, benchmarking against developed countries, the future potential for aluminum scrap demand will be even more substantial. From 2022 to 2042, SMM expects the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of extruded aluminum scrap to reach approximately 5%. By 2042, extruded aluminum scrap is expected to account for about 33% of total aluminum scrap. Regarding secondary copper, he mentioned that SMM forecasts the global copper scrap market size to grow at a CAGR of 4.2% from 2024 to 2030. Secondary Aluminum Over the past decade, the proportion of secondary aluminum production in developed countries such as North America, South America, Europe, and Japan has been significantly higher than that in developing countries. Similarly, for developing countries, benchmarking against developed countries, the future potential for aluminum scrap demand will be even more substantial. According to SMM, China, the US, Europe, and India are the major aluminum scrap-producing regions, accounting for approximately 80% of the total. Benefiting from global carbon reduction policies, recycling systems in various countries are continuously improving. In the future, aluminum scrap production will continue to grow. According to SMM data, in 2022, the production of rolled aluminum scrap exceeded that of extruded and cast aluminum scrap, becoming the highest among the three types of aluminum scrap. However, it is expected that extruded aluminum scrap will grow at the fastest rate in the future. From 2022 to 2042, SMM expects the CAGR of extruded aluminum scrap to reach approximately 5%. By 2042, extruded aluminum scrap is expected to account for about 33% of total aluminum scrap. SMM: Analysis of the Global Supply-Demand Pattern of the Secondary Metals Industry - The Market Size of Secondary Copper and Aluminum Will Continue to Rise Speech Topic: Global Secondary Metals Industry Development Trends and Challenges from a Middle Eastern Perspective Guest Speaker: Sanjeev Phadke, Financial Controller and Executive Committee Member of the Middle East Recycling Bureau Exploring the Global Secondary Metals Market: An In-depth Analysis of Strengths and Challenges in India, the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia Moderator: Fan Xin, Chairman of SMM Guests: Metalcom Ltd. General Manager Mr. Kittipot Thanalertlap CEO of Dr. Recycling, Tan Tian Director of DIMEXA HOLDINGS PTE. LTD., WENCESLAO MANZ Financial Controller and Executive Committee Member of the Middle East Recycling Bureau, Sanjeev Phadke June 13 Battery Recycling Forum Southeast Asian Battery Resource Market: Supply Chain Dynamics Moderator: Cui Suoye, Director of SMM Nonferrous Consulting Guests: Sujin Kim, Global Business Development Director of BatX Energies Wu Xiaoyun, Chairman of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Lead-Acid Battery Industry Alliance Zhao Bin, President of the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Zone Chen Wenkai, Chairman of the Malaysia Nonferrous Metals Association (MNMA) Shen Juan, Purchasing Director of Jingjiu Group Speech Topic: Current Status and Future Challenges of the Southeast Asian Secondary Lead Industry Guest Speaker: Wu Xiaoyun, Chairman of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Lead-Acid Battery Industry Alliance I. Overview of the Current Status of the Southeast Asian Secondary Lead Industry I. Current Status of the Southeast Asian Secondary Lead Industry 1. Severe Imbalance in Supply and Demand Demand Side: Demand for lead-acid batteries: starting batteries (with an ownership of over 40 million units) and motorcycle power batteries (with an ownership of 250 million units), as well as demand for backup power supplies for 5G base station construction (ESS batteries). Supply Side: The local secondary lead production capacity is severely insufficient, with an annual shortfall of 150,000 mt in Vietnam (self-sufficiency rate of only 42%) and 80,000 mt in Indonesia (self-sufficiency rate of 65%), relying on imported lead ingots to fill the gap. Raw Material Bottleneck: Scrap lead-acid batteries are difficult to recycle across borders due to restrictions under the Basel Convention, resulting in an annual loss of approximately 600,000 mt of lead. The utilization rate of secondary lead production capacity is only 50%. 2. Environmental Protection and Technological Challenges ESG compliance costs in Malaysia have increased by 30%, with small and medium-sized factories investing over $5 million annually in environmental protection. Thailand/Indonesia will ban the import of lead-containing plastic residues in 2025, exacerbating the shortage of raw materials. A high proportion of low-purity secondary lead (60% of inventory in Malaysia has a purity of 3. Intensified Regional Competition Chinese battery companies have deployed a production capacity of 1 million mt, driving up the local scrap battery acquisition premium to 120% of the Chinese market price. 》Wu Xiaoyun: Current Status and Path to Transformation of the Southeast Asian Secondary Lead Industry Speech Topic: Improving the Battery Recycling System Driven by the Market Growth of EVs in Southeast Asia Guest Speaker: Luo Tieying, President of Jinchi Industrial Park Speech Topic: Exploring Africa: Opportunities for Sustainable Expansion and Raw Material Investment Guest Speaker: Yousef Al Sharif, Director of the African Recycled Metals Association/Al Sharif Metal Secondary Copper and Aluminum Forum Speech Topic: Global Impact of Changing Trade and Tariff Policies in the US Guest Speaker: Adam Shaffer, VP of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) Speech Topic: SMM Serving the Global Secondary Copper and Aluminum Metal Market Guest Speaker: Zhang Xiaoyao, Project Leader of SMM Recycling Conference Speech Topic: Global Supply-Demand Pattern Development of Secondary Metals from an Indian Perspective Guest Speaker: Amar Singh, Secretary General of the Material Recycling Association of India Speech Topic: Building a New Cambodia-China Metal Hub - Inviting You to Co-Construct an Overseas Demonstration Industrial Park for Recycling Nonferrous Metals Processing Guest Speaker: Cao Zhuo, General Manager of International Business for the Americas Region of the Cambodia-China Metal Materials Industrial Park Secondary Copper and Aluminum Yard: Innovative Recycling and Sorting Technologies Paving the Way for Green and Carbon-Reducing Industry Moderator: Zhou Bo, Executive Vice President of SMM Guests: Liang Jiali, Deputy General Manager of Foshan Lvtian Environmental Protection Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd. Li Zhiqiang, General Manager of Henan Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. Ye Hangyu, Director of the Foreign Trade Department of Hefei Anjinglong Electronics Co., Ltd. Sun Bolin, Sales Director of Liaoning Pinuo Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. Recommendations for Copper, Aluminum - High-Quality Overseas Yards and Trustworthy Traders, and Batteries - High-Quality Equipment Enterprises Sidelights from the Venue 》Click to View More Sidelights With this, the 2025 SMM (2nd) Global Secondary Metals Industry Summit has come to a successful conclusion. See you next year! 》Click to view the special report on the 2025 SMM (2nd) Global Recycled Metals Industry Summit Forum

This week, the ferrous metals series first rose and then fell, with an overall downward trend. At the beginning of the week, the China-US talks sent optimistic signals, improving market sentiment and driving up the futures market. However, mid-week, the fundamental factors of steel turned weak, coupled with fading sentiment, causing the futures market to decline. As the weekend approached, the US announced that it would impose a tariff hike on steel home appliances starting from the 23rd, leading to a significant drop in the futures market, except for coking coal and coke. In the spot market, the futures market rose in the first half of the week, leading to a phased improvement in market transactions. However, most transactions were driven by rigid demand for low-priced purchases, and seasonal characteristics began to emerge...