[SMM Daily Review: Spot Lithium Carbonate Prices Continued to Fall on May 19] Today, SMM battery-grade spot lithium carbonate prices fluctuated downward compared to the previous working day. Futures side, the lithium carbonate 2609 contract opened high at 191,000 yuan/mt today, then quickly pulled back after the opening. During the morning session, it fluctuated downward and broke below the average price line. Around midday, it accelerated its decline to a daily low of 182,100 yuan/mt (a drop of over 5%). In the afternoon session, it rebounded slightly but struggled to rebound further, weakening again toward the close, ultimately settling down 3.71% at 184,400 yuan/mt, with open interest decreasing by 20,533 lots. Spot market, lithium carbonate prices pulled back from highs after the previous rapid rally, which notably stimulated downstream inquiries and purchasing enthusiasm. Upstream lithium chemical plants still maintained willingness to hold prices firm, and some enterprises that had hedged at previous highs increased spot order shipments to downstream buyers. Overall, inquiries and actual transactions in the spot market were active. Lithium prices are expected to have limited downside in the short term and are expected to hover at highs.

The most-traded HRC contract declined first and then rebounded today, closing at 3,428 at the end of the session, down 0.32% intraday. Spot HRC prices mostly fell 10-20 yuan/mt today, with some markets remaining stable. In terms of supply, the impact from maintenance on hot-rolled production was 137,500 mt this week, down 98,500 mt WoW, and the impact from maintenance next week will be 185,500 mt, up 48,000 mt WoW, with overall pressure being neutral. Demand side, end-users mainly purchased at low prices. As futures rose at the end of the session, market transactions improved slightly, and there was also low-price shipments in the spot-futures price spread. Cost side, after macro front disturbances diminished, short-term cost support weakened somewhat. Looking ahead, the supply-dema....

[SMM Coking Coal and Coke Daily Review] Supply side, coking enterprises maintained moderate profits, with coke supply remaining stable with a slight increase. Shipments from coking enterprises were smooth, and their own coke inventories stood at low levels. Demand side, steel prices have recently fluctuated and pulled back, but steel mills currently enjoy decent profitability, with hot metal output remaining at a relatively high level, supporting solid procurement demand for coke from steel mills. In summary, the coke supply-demand pattern is in a tight balance, and the coke market may hold up well in the short term.

[SMM Steel] US rebar exports totaled 5,149 tonnes in March 2026, up 4.1% m-o-m but down 70.5% y-o-y, according to US Department of Commerce export data. Export value fell to 4.08 million USD from 4.65 million USD in February and 14.71 million USD in March 2025. Canada remained the largest destination for US rebar exports with 2,558 tonnes, although shipments were significantly lower compared with 3,174 tonnes in February and 10,350 tonnes in March last year.

[SMM Steel] Japan’s cold rolled sheet and strip shipments increased by 19.7% m-o-m in March 2026 to 407,826 tonnes, although volumes were still down 2.7% y-o-y, according to JISF data. Domestic shipments accounted for 51.9% of total volumes, while exports represented 48.1%. CR inventories declined by 4.6% m-o-m to 647,044 tonnes but remained 4.5% higher y-o-y. Meanwhile, CR production rose 10.2% m-o-m to 376,896 tonnes, though output was still down 10.5% compared with March 2025.

SMM May 19 update: During the morning session, the SHFE aluminum 2606 contract fluctuated upward, with the overall price center rising significantly from the previous trading day. Today, market buying sentiment declined due to the impact of rising aluminum prices, while selling sentiment increased. Mainstream spot quotes ranged from SMMA00 minus 10 yuan/mt to parity. Today, the east China market shipment sentiment index was 2.97, up 0.08 MoM; the purchasing sentiment index was 2.78, down 0.05 MoM. Futures prices were in the doldrums over the past two days, and buying sentiment among downstream processing enterprises in the central China market rebounded slightly WoW. Today, aluminum prices recovered slightly, and suppliers showed stronger willingness to sell, with overall market transaction activity warming up. Insufficient invoice quotas limited suppliers' shipments, and the willingness to hold prices firm and hold back from selling was notable, resulting in higher transaction prices. Ultimately, the actual transaction price range in the central China market was between parity and a premium of 30 yuan to the central China price. Today, the central China market shipment sentiment index was 2.84, up 0.02 MoM; the purchasing sentiment index was 2.32, up 0.03 MoM. Inventory side, aluminum ingot inventory in major consumption areas fell 7,000 mt WoW today, with all three regions showing destocking trends.

Platinum prices fluctuated intraday, dipping after a slightly higher open in the morning session before seeing a weak rebound toward the close. Ultimately, the most-traded GFEX platinum contract closed the morning session at 491.4 yuan/gram, up 0.22%. The SGE Pt9995–GFEX PT2606 spread remained inverted, with the price difference holding at 5–10 yuan/gram. Spot side, mainstream spot platinum premiums continued to narrow compared to the previous trading day. Morning mainstream quotations from traders ranged from parity to a 3 yuan/gram discount to GFEX PT2606, with some platinum warrants sold at a slight premium. Transaction side, according to SMM, morning offers at a 1–3 yuan/gram discount to GFEX saw good turnover, with lower-end quotes quickly locked in by the market. As futures prices declined subsequently, higher-end quotes also saw transactions. With recent futures declines boosting downstream inquiries, the market generally reported that upstream shipments were limited due to low absolute prices, and some traders opted to wait for delivery, leaving spot cargo relatively tight. Overall, the spot market was fairly active today.

Today in North China, spot #1 copper cathode prices against the front-month contract were reported at an average discount of 300 yuan/mt to a discount of 200 yuan/mt, with the average discount of 250 yuan/mt down 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average transaction price was 104,075 yuan/mt, up 140 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Constellium and Ryerson are attracting market attention as aluminum prices remain high amid global trade tensions. Constellium benefited from stronger packaging, automotive and aerospace demand, with Q4 2025 revenue rising 28% YoY to USD 2.2 billion and packaging and automotive rolled product shipments increasing 11%. The company also generated USD 110 million in free cash flow and continued share buybacks. In comparison, Ryerson’s aluminum business supported a 10.4% increase in aluminum revenue to USD 1.15 billion in 2025, but weaker manufacturing demand and debt pressure continued to weigh on sentiment. Over the past six months, Constellium shares rose 60.8% while Ryerson declined 6.6%.

Japan’s primary aluminum imports rose 6.6% YoY and 16% MoM to 89,497 tones in March 2026, supported by recovering automotive demand and stronger aluminum product output. Japan’s vehicle production increased 8.8% YoY, boosting demand for automotive flat-rolled and extruded products, with automotive extrusion shipments rising 15%. However, construction demand remained weak, with construction extrusion shipments falling 5.3% YoY. Imports of ADC12 aluminum alloy ingots declined 3% to 79,137 tones, while average import prices rose 5.6% to USD 2,969/t. On the supply side, imports from Malaysia surged 836.9% YoY, marking the fastest growth among suppliers.