SMM, March 24: According to an official announcement from a Hunan-based company, bidding for the sale of 600 metric tons of physical bismuth concentrate from its operations for March 2026 will begin today. The deadline for bidding registration and submission is 10:00 a.m. on March 26. The minimum bid price for this auction is set at 130,600 yuan per metal ton. Bids below this threshold will be considered invalid.

[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...

[Ningbo Steel's Information on Adjustments to the Product Pricing Policy for April 2026] On March 20, Ningbo Steel adjusted the prices of its HRC products for April 2026, with the details as follows: The April ex-factory prices remained flat from March, with Q235B set at 3,800 yuan/mt; the above prices were cash, tax-inclusive prices, effective from April 1, 2026. [SMM Steel]

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $11,816/mt. After dipping to $11,798/mt in early trading, its center rose sharply to a high of $12,395/mt, then hovered at highs, and finally closed at $12,221/mt, up 3.27%. Trading volume reached 52,000 lots, and open interest stood at 292,000 lots, down 944 lots from the previous trading day, mainly reflecting bears cutting positions overall. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2605 contract opened at 95,010 yuan/mt. After the opening, its center moved higher to a high of 95,900 yuan/mt, after which copper prices maintained a fluctuating trend at highs. Near the close, it dipped to 94,530 yuan/mt and finally closed at 93,840 yuan/mt, up 2.12%. Trading volume reached 120,000 lots, and open interest stood at 198,000 lots, down 6,741 lots from the previous trading day, mainly reflecting bears cutting positions throughout the day.

Beijing CRE (002350.SZ) announced that it recently received the notification of award for the 2026 Inverter Framework Agreement Procurement Bidding (Section 2) of China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd. The winning bid amount is 576 million yuan, and the target content is PV inverters. As a framework bidding, the specific amount is subject to the officially signed contract. The company has received the notification but has not yet signed the formal contract. This project is expected to have a positive impact on the company's performance in 2026 and beyond, without affecting its operational independence.

[SMM Hydrogen Energy Brief] On March 16, Guofu (Jinan) Hydrogen Energy Technology Development Co., Ltd. was established with a registered capital of 2 million yuan, and its legal representative is Ding Leizhe. Equity information shows that the company is 80% held by Jiangsu Guofu Hydrogen Energy Technology Equipment Co., Ltd. and 20% held by Zhejiang Lingniu Yishi New Energy Technology Co., Ltd.

[SMM Daily Review of Aluminum Alloy] Futures: The aluminum alloy 2604 contract opened at 22,750 yuan/mt today. After a brief dip in early trading, it then fluctuated upward. It attempted to move higher multiple times during the session but failed to break the intraday high, gradually weakened in the afternoon, and accelerated its pullback late in the session. It finally closed at 22,585 yuan/mt, down 165 yuan/mt from the previous settlement price, a decline of 0.73%. Spot: The ADC12 market as a whole continued to hold prices steady today. Although aluminum prices showed signs of stabilizing today, market sentiment recovered only to a limited extent, and enterprises generally chose to delay price adjustments and remain on the sidelines. Demand side, downstream order improvement was not obvi

On March 23, Youngy Co., Ltd. issued an announcement stating that the company has approved a proposal to invest in the construction of an annual 50,000-ton high-performance lithium-ion battery anode material project, with a total fixed asset investment of approximately 1.1 billion yuan. The project will be implemented in Lanzhou New Area by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Lanzhou Youngy Materials Technology Co., Ltd. Lanzhou Youngy Materials completed its industrial and commercial registration in December 2024. As early as May 2025, it signed a "State-Owned Construction Land Use Rights Transfer Contract" with the Lanzhou New Area Natural Resources and Planning Bureau, acquiring 208,451.60 square meters of industrial land in Lanzhou New Area for a transfer price of 49.77 million yuan.

Today, the average price of tax-inclusive Bare Bright Wire in Zhejiang was quoted at 93,700 yuan/mt, marking a daily increase of 700 yuan/mt. The deduction (relative to SMM ChangJiang copper prices) remained stable within the range of 300-400 yuan/mt. Due to recent high-level price pullbacks and sharp market volatility, a strong "wait-and-see" sentiment has emerged, leading to sluggish spot trading performance. Industry experts believe the market is currently in a stalemate. However, trading volumes are expected to bottom out and rebound once prices stabilize or regain their upward momentum.

SMM News, March 24: Aluminum ingot: On March 24, SMM A00 aluminum (Foshan) was reported at 23,440, up 30, at a discount of 170 against the current-month contract, narrowing by 5 (unit: yuan/mt) The SHFE aluminum 04 contract generally stabilized today. Supported by aluminum prices halting their decline and edging up slightly, the South China spot market stabilized and improved, and buyers generally showed good purchasing sentiment today. Spot prices were significantly below the monthly average price, and sellers firmly held prices firm. However, amid weekend inventory buildup and ample circulating cargo, overall support for firm prices was clearly constrained under high inventory pressure. Mainstream transaction prices in the market today were concentrated at premiums of -175 yuan/mt to -165 yuan/mt against the SHFE aluminum 04 contract.