SMM, March 16: The SHFE aluminum 04 contract opened higher and extended gains today, while market transactions were relatively sluggish. Futures later fell, and as buying sentiment strengthened and price acceptance improved, transaction prices in the spot market moved higher. Today’s mainstream quotations and transaction prices were mainly concentrated between a discount of 10 yuan/mt and the average price. Today, the east China market shipments sentiment index was 3.07, down 0.26 WoW; the purchase sentiment index was 2.66, up 0.11 WoW. Today, aluminum prices continued to edge lower from last Friday, and with inventory remaining high, traders in the central China market showed limited bullish sentiment. Overall purchase volumes recovered somewhat from the previous two trading days. As futures prices declined, market premiums showed a continued upward trend. Ultimately, actual transaction prices in the central China market were mainly concentrated between a discount of 10 yuan to the central China price and a premium of 20 yuan to the central China price, and moved higher throughout the session. Today, the central China market shipments sentiment index was 2.58, down 0.09 WoW; the purchase sentiment index was 2.36, up 0.01 WoW. Inventory side, aluminum ingot inventory in major consumption regions increased by 18,500 mt WoW today, with all three regions showing inventory buildup. In the short term, following the Chinese New Year, aluminum ingot continued to see seasonal inventory buildup. Affected by bullish sentiment, premiums are expected to remain on a narrowing trend.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Fell Back as Steel Mill Price Adjustments Dampened Downstream Buying Interest SMM News, March 16: SS futures showed a downward pullback. Although the contract was relatively stable during Friday's night session, Monday's open was dragged lower by a broad decline across the nonferrous metals sector, with SS also pulling back to close at 14,185 yuan/mt by midday. In the spot market, affected by the decline in SS futures and an overall cut of 200 yuan/mt in the morning guidance prices from a major stainless steel mill, retail quotations in the market edged lower. Price fluctuations fueled stronger wait-and-see sentiment among downstream buyers, and intraday transactions were weak. However, market feedback indicated that transactions had been broadly steady earlier, and coupled with relatively strong expectations for the cost side of stainless steel, most market participants had not expected this round of price cuts. Traders' spot quotations fell by less than the reduction in the guidance price. The most-traded SS futures contract pulled back after falling. As of 10:15 a.m., SS2605 was quoted at 14,045 yuan/mt, down 230 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for Wuxi 304/2B were in the range of 245-445 yuan/mt. In the spot market, Wuxi cold-rolled 201/2B coils were generally stable; for cold-rolled trim-edge 304/2B coils, the average price in Wuxi fell by 50 yuan/mt and the average price in Foshan fell by 50 yuan/mt; Wuxi cold-rolled 316L/2B coils were stable; Wuxi quotations for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils were stable; cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan were also stable. As the traditional peak consumption season of "Golden March and Silver April" begins, the stainless steel market is entering a window for demand recovery, with downstream end-users gradually resu...

SMM News, March 16: Data Brief: As of Monday, March 16, copper inventories in SMM’s major regions nationwide fell 5.46% WoW from the previous Monday, with destocking seen across all regions. Specifically, in Shanghai, arrivals of imported and domestic supplies were normal, while downstream consumption continued to recover, leading to some inventory drawdown; in Jiangsu, inventory declined slightly, supported by recovering downstream consumption; in Guangdong, consumption continued to improve, arrivals remained normal, and inventories likewise maintained a destocking trend. Looking ahead, arrivals of imported and domestic supplies are expected to remain stable, with overall supply stabilizing; demand side, the pullback in copper prices effectively stimulated downstream consumption, and rigid demand is gradually being released. According to the survey, the weekly operating rate of copper cathode rod is expected to rise to 79.19% this week, up 6.27 percentage points WoW. Taking both supply and demand into account, the market is currently showing a pattern of “stabilizing supply and recovering consumption,” and social inventory is expected to continue destocking this week.

[SMM Silicon-Based PV Morning Meeting Summary: Module Prices Have Softened Somewhat, While Polysilicon Prices Remain Temporarily Stable] Recently, transaction prices for modules in China have softened somewhat. As demand outside China declines and domestic projects are at the point of being about to start, module enterprises have shown differing attitudes in their quotations. Some enterprises have begun offering concessions in advance to take orders, and distributors have also recently started shipments at low prices, thereby leading to a decline in the market transaction price center. At present, quoted prices for distributed Topcon183, 210R, and 210N high-efficiency modules are 0.752 Yuan/W, 0.767 Yuan/W, and 0.77 Yuan/W, respectively, while quoted prices for centralized Topcon182/183 and 210N high-efficiency modules are 0.727 Yuan/W and 0747 Yuan/W, respectively.

[SMM Morning Meeting Summary: The Tin Market Weakened After Fluctuating at Highs, Under Short-Term Pressure Amid Intertwined Bullish and Bearish Factors]

[SMM Morning Meeting Summary: US Dollar Strengthened, LME Zinc Came Under Pressure] Last Friday, LME zinc opened at $3,315.5/mt. At the beginning of the session, bulls and bears were intertwined, and LME zinc briefly rose to a high of $3,316.5/mt. Subsequently, bulls reduced their open interest, and LME zinc fluctuated downward, touching a low of $3,270.5/mt during European trading hours. পরে, the center moved up slightly and fluctuated in consolidation along the daily average line, finally closing down at $3,293.5/mt, down $21/mt, or 0.63%. Trading volume fell to 7,065 lots, and open interest decreased by 1,630 lots to 215,000 lots.

At the start of the year, there was plenty of excitement around silver. The precious metal was soaring and reaching record highs along the way. However, it has declined from the highs it reached in January.

SMM Nickel News, March 16: Macro and Market News: (1) The financial statistics report for February released by the central bank showed that at month-end February, broad money (M2) balance stood at 349.22 trillion yuan, up 9% YoY; cumulative aggregate social financing for the first two months was 9.6 trillion yuan, 316.2 billion yuan more than the same period last year; new RMB loans in the first two months increased by 5.61 trillion yuan; the balance of domestic and foreign currency deposits was 345.72 trillion yuan, up 8.8% YoY; and the month-end RMB deposit balance was 337.94 trillion yuan, up 8.7% YoY. (2) The central bank said in its tender announcement for open-market outright reverse repo operations that on March 16, 2026, the People's Bank of China will conduct 500 billion yuan of outright reverse repo operations through a fixed-quantity, interest-rate bidding, and multiple-price allocation method, with a tenor of six months (182 days). Spot Market: On March 16, the SMM #1 refined nickel price fell by 2,650 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums: Jinchuan #1 refined nickel averaged 6,700 yuan/mt, up 50 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; China mainstream branded electrodeposited nickel was at -300-400 yuan/mt. Futures Market: The most-traded SHFE nickel contract (2605) fell sharply intraday and closed the morning session at 135,990 yuan/mt, down 1.83%. Tensions in the Middle East pushed up oil prices, intensifying inflation concerns. The market expects the US Fed may slow the pace of interest rate cuts, while the US dollar continued to strengthen, creating clear pressure on nickel prices. Despite significant macro pressure, the industry-level support logic has not changed, and market concerns over tightening supply of nickel intermediate products remain. Short term, the most-traded SHFE nickel contract is expected to move sideways in the 135,000-145,000 yuan/mt range.

We all know the relationship between Gold and US Dollars in the financial markets. When the USD rises, gold tends to fall and vice versa. It sounds simple to you, right? But understanding why this happens, and how to actually trade it like a pro trader, takes more than knowing that the pattern exists.

SMM News, March 12: Today in Guangdong, spot prices for #1 copper cathode against the front-month contract were reported at a premium of 50 yuan/mt for high-quality copper, down 110 yuan/mt from last Friday; a discount of 10 yuan/mt for standard-quality copper, down 50 yuan/mt from last Friday; and a discount of 85 yuan/mt for SX-EW copper, down 85 yuan/mt from last Friday. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 98,955 yuan/mt, down 1,640 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 98,850 yuan/mt, down 1,625 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot market: After the weekend, Guangdong inventory did not continue to decline, but instead increased slightly, mainly due to increased arrivals. As today was the contract rollover day, market quotations were mixed. Mainstream transaction prices for standard-quality copper were at a discount of 120 yuan/mt against the next-month contract, while transaction prices against the front-month contract were at a discount of 10 yuan/mt; overall trading was relatively quiet. Today, procurement sentiment for copper cathode in Guangdong was 2.32, down 0.08 from the previous trading day, and shipments sentiment was 3.01, down 0.29 from the previous trading day (historical data is available in the database). Overall, market quotations were mixed on the contract rollover day, and overall trading was relatively quiet.