[SMM Chromium Weekly Review: Costs and Demand Jointly Drove the Market, with Strongly Bullish Sentiment] March 13, 2026: Quotations remained unchanged for the time being, and the chromium market operated steadily...

[SMM Tin Midday Review: Center of the Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Moved Lower, Trading Was Slightly Sluggish Amid Structural Divergence in End-Use Demand]

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Struggled to Break Out of Rangebound Trading, Spot Market Held Prices Steady While Actively Shipping SMM News, March 13: SS futures remained in the doldrums. However, after opening higher in the night session, SS fluctuated downward, with the pace of pullback accelerating further in the afternoon, and closed at 14,190 yuan/mt. In the spot market, affected by fluctuations in futures, quotations were largely stable, with limited changes during the week. Although the recovery in downstream demand and cargo pick-up of previous orders provided support, and stainless steel social inventory stopped rising and pulled back this week, market expectations remained mediocre, with merchants mainly holding prices steady while actively making shipments. The most-traded SS futures contract fluctuated stronger. As of 10:15 a.m., SS2605 stood at 14,275 yuan/mt, down 15 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi were in the range of 245-445 yuan/mt. In the spot market, cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi were all basically stable; for cold-rolled trimmed 304/2B coils, the average prices in both Wuxi and Foshan were basically stable; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi were basically stable; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils were quoted basically stable in Wuxi; and cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan were basically stable. Entering the traditional peak consumption season of “Golden March and Silver April,” the stainless steel market ushered in a window for demand recovery, with downstream end-users gradually recovering and inquiry and purchase activity having picked up notably recently. However, stainless steel spot prices overall remained basically stable, with no obvious fluctuations. End-user procurement mainly followed rigid demand, and a full-scale peak-season boom had yet to emerge, while wait-and-see sentiment still lingered in the market. On the futures side, affected by Yi...

[SMM Daily Review: Rising Ore Prices Provide Strong Cost Support, High-Grade NPI Prices Were Gradually Raised] March 13 News, SMM's upstream sentiment factor for high-grade NPI was 2.92, up 0.01 MoM, while the downstream sentiment factor for high-grade NPI was 1.72, up 0.07 MoM.

Recently, CIMC Enric and PT SAMATOR Group , Indonesia’s largest industrial gas and energy services provider, officially signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement in Jakarta. Leveraging their respective strengths, the two parties reached a long-term partnership to jointly promote the optimization of the energy structure in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, as well as green and sustainable development. PT SAMATOR Group is a leading industrial gas enterprise in Indonesia, with business spanning multiple sectors including healthcare, oil and gas, and metallurgy, and with a well-established local market network and operating resources. According to the agreement, the two parties will focus on in-depth cooperation in five major areas: the entire industry chain of industrial gases, natural gas storage and transportation equipment, EPC for energy projects, digital after-sales services, and new business development. CIMC Enric will leverage its strengths in the design, manufacturing, and system integration of energy equipment, together with the other party’s local resources, to jointly advance the implementation of clean energy projects such as industrial gases, hydrogen storage and transportation, and new energy, thereby supporting Indonesia’s energy transition and industrial upgrading. Ju Xiaofeng, Vice President of CIMC Enric, and Rachmat Harsono, Chief Executive Officer of PT SAMATOR Group, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective parties. Ju Xiaofeng said that this cooperation was the result of resource synergy and demonstrated the company’s determination to deepen its presence in the Indonesian market; Rachmat Harsono said that the cooperation would help further strengthen the Group’s local business and expand the space for both parties in markets outside China.

This week, China's manganese-based battery materials market showed a differentiated operating trend: battery-grade Mn3O4 prices dropped back slightly, EMD prices edged up slightly, and LMO remained in a weak balance amid the tug-of-war between sellers and buyers. Although the three major products showed different trends, all were supported by the cost side. Overall, the market was mainly stable in the short term, with limited room for wild swings, as the industry gradually transitioned from the post-holiday resumption period to a phase of steady operations......

At the start of this week, US nonfarm payrolls for February unexpectedly declined, and expectations for US Fed interest rate cuts rebounded somewhat, briefly boosting copper prices. Trump then signaled that tensions between the US and Iran might ease, sending oil prices lower and the US dollar weaker, which triggered a phased rebound in copper prices. However, after oil tankers in the Gulf region came under attack and Iran stated that it would continue to close the Strait of Hormuz, tensions in the Middle East escalated again. Rising crude oil prices lifted safe-haven sentiment, and the stronger US dollar index weighed on copper prices. At the same time, US February CPI came in line with expectations, and market bets on interest rate cuts within the year were scaled back markedly, weakening expectations for macro liquidity. In terms of positioning, bulls continued to reduce positions, and capital turned more cautious. Overall, macro uncertainty and repeated shifts in interest rate cut expectations remain intertwined, and copper prices are still likely to fluctuate rangebound in the short term. Fundamentals side, TC in the copper concentrates market was still falling. Recent mine tender prices pointed to a median of -$60/mt. For copper cathode, the inventory buildup showed a turning point, and the import window opened slightly. According to SMM, downstream operating activity was more active than expected, with active pricing below the copper price range of 100,000 yuan/mt. Looking ahead to next week, the macro logic is expected to remain unchanged, and geopolitical tensions are still expected to provide strong support to the US dollar, leaving significant short-term resistance for copper prices. However, fundamentals are supporting copper prices, which are expected to remain fluctuating near the range in the short term. LME copper is expected to fluctuate between $12,800/mt and $13,200/mt, and SHFE copper between 99,000 yuan/mt and 101,000 yuan/mt. In the spot market, as delivery approaches, spot market trading logic will fluctuate with the price spread between futures contracts and funding costs, and is expected to gradually rise next week. Spot prices against the SHFE copper 2604 contract are expected to range from a discount of 180 yuan/mt to a discount of 80 yuan/mt.

This week, China’s domestic manganese-based battery materials market has shown a differentiated operation trend. The price of battery-grade manganese tetroxide has slightly declined, the price of electrolytic manganese dioxide has slightly increased, and lithium manganate has maintained a weak balance of supply and demand.

Silver prices fluctuated rangebound today, while spot market premiums still showed signs of continuing to decline, and downstream transactions were still mainly concluded through substantial bargaining. In Shanghai, mainstream quotations from suppliers of domestic standard silver ingots were tentatively quoted at premiums of 600-700 yuan/kg against TD, but due to increased supply, weakening downstream consumption, and substantial bargaining, actual transaction premiums fell to 500 yuan/kg. In Shenzhen, premiums of domestic standard small silver ingots against TD dropped to 400 yuan/kg, while premiums for large ingots declined to 300-400 yuan/kg. As suppliers increased sell-offs and shipped more cargo to the Shanghai market, transaction prices in Shanghai were slightly dragged lower as a result. Some downstream consumers suspended purchases after completing post-holiday restocking, and buyers still largely stayed on the sidelines today, continuing to buy the dip through substantial bargaining. Suppliers gradually ended their efforts to hold prices firm and withhold sales, and successively adjusted prices to make shipments, while spot market transactions remained relatively sluggish.

In contrast to the typical price declines seen during the traditional spring festival low season from January to February in previous years, China’s domestic manganese sulfate market has recently staged an independent rally of “strong performance amid the off-season”, with prices rising steadily along the way.