Iron ore futures fell first and then rebounded today. The most-traded I2605 contract finally closed at 809 yuan/mt, down 0.74% from the previous trading session. Meanwhile, the spot price fell by about 5 yuan from the previous trading day. Traders were only moderately active in offering quotes, while steel mills made fewer inquiries, with purchases mainly driven by rigid demand. Overall, transactions in the spot market were relatively subdued. Last week, SMM's global iron ore shipments increased by 4.13 million mt WoW to 31.97 million mt, up 14.85%. Meanwhile, total port arrivals in China reached 28.13 million mt, up 5.06 million mt WoW, or 21.93%. The sharp surge in port arrivals further highlighted resistance on the fundamentals side. At the same time, the release of certain iron ore products from ports to some extent weighed on today's spot procurement demand. Together, these two factors curbed bullish sentiment in the iron ore market to a certain extent. Looking ahead, although the supply side was relatively loose this week, blast furnaces that had previously undergone maintenance are expected to resume production in a concentrated manner this week. Therefore, the market is expected to shift into a pattern of both strong supply and strong demand this week. Meanwhile, iron ore has again entered a structurally tight market, while the continued rise in freight rates has also provided cost support for iron ore. Overall, iron ore prices are expected to fluctuate at highs or hold up well in the short term.

[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.

[SMM Zinc Morning Comment] Last Friday, the most-traded SHFE zinc 2604 contract opened at 24,205 yuan/mt. In early trading, SHFE zinc briefly rose to a high of 24,255 yuan/mt, then bears added to their positions, sending SHFE zinc fluctuating downward all the way to a low of 24,070 yuan/mt near the close. It finally closed down at 24,080 yuan/mt, down 60 yuan/mt, or 0.25%, with trading volume falling to 37,382 lots and open interest increasing by 1,553 lots to 76,744 lots.

The 2026 SMM (3rd) Global Renewable Metal Industry Chain Summit & Battery Recycling Forum will be held in Tokyo, Japan, from May 11–12, 2026. The summit aims to bring together leading global enterprises, research institutions, industry experts, and policymakers in the fields of renewable metals and battery recycling.

Ouyang Minggao pointed out that large-scale mass production of all-solid-state batteries will still require 3–5 years, with test vehicles expected to appear by the end of 2026. Sulphide electrolyte has fallen from 20 million/mt to the million-level range. However, he stressed that the technical difficulty is extremely high and advised consumers that they “need not wait,” as LFP batteries remain the “ballast stone” at present.

[SMM Tin Morning Briefing: The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Opened Slightly Higher in the Night Session and Then Fluctuated Downward, While Downstream Enterprises Concentrated Their Restocking on Dips]

[SMM Tin Midday Review: Macro and Fundamental Bearish Factors Resonated, and the Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Once Fell Below the 370,000 yuan Mark]

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.

After a strong start, the price of gold slipped twice to around $5,060 during this trading week. Now, it appears that gold prices might manage to stay just above $5,100 heading into the weekend, continuing the persistent sideways movement of the past five weeks.

As of March 16, tungsten prices in China saw a slight correction, with APT quoted at 1.505 million yuan/mt. The market's fear of high prices was released, entering a phase of rational wait-and-see. Outside China, supply remained persistently tight, with the average APT Rotterdam price at $2,200/mtu, while weekly gains in tungsten scrap prices in India and Europe exceeded 25%.