Silver prices continued to fluctuate within a range. Today, the TD–the most-traded SHFE silver contract spot-futures price spread changed relatively little from yesterday, and spot premiums remained stable. In Shanghai, mainstream quotations from suppliers of national-standard silver ingots were quoted at premiums of +900 yuan/kg against TD. Some major-producer brands or traders with low inventory were quoted at premiums of +900~+1,000 yuan/kg against TD and were reluctant to sell while staying on the sidelines. It was learned that there were still a small number of suppliers in the market who, due to costs and other reasons, were quoted at premiums of +800-900 yuan/kg against TD. Downstream buyers actively negotiated prices and bought the dip. Premiums still differed significantly between mt-level deals and small-lot orders, and spot market trading gradually became more active.

[2026 Zinc Concentrates Benchmark Released] It was reported that the market heard this week that Teck Resources, a Canadian mining company, and a South Korean zinc company agreed on a 2026 benchmark processing fee for imported zinc concentrates of $85/dmt, a slight rebound from $80/dmt in 2025, while raising charges for silver and germanium after prices for the two metals surged.

Silver prices moved downwards after a higher opening this week. After the spot-futures price spread narrowed, spot premiums for physical silver ingots declined as expected, but the gap between suppliers’ quotes widened. There were still many large ingots traded directly in the market this week, or processed into small ingots and then re-entered the market for trading. Significant differences in transaction prices persisted for silver ingots across different brands and lot sizes. As of Thursday, Shanghai market quotes for national-standard silver ingots against TD premiums had been lowered to 850-900 yuan/kg, while major-producer ingots were quoted at 900-1,000 yuan/kg, with sellers holding prices firm and reluctant to sell. Downstream buyers actively negotiated and bought the dip. Some smelters or traders lowered prices due to concerns that premiums might continue to decline or because of cash-flow pressure, thereby facilitating transactions. After the Lantern Festival, downstream operating rates gradually increased, and market trading volumes continued to expand. Inventory side, total social inventory of silver declined this week. As spot premiums surged sharply before the holiday, downstream participants generally did not stockpile ahead of the holiday. Therefore, after the holiday, under pressure to fulfill order deliveries, downstream silver users purchased large volumes of physical silver ingots. After SHFE deliveries were completed in February, a large amount of spot cargo also flowed out of warehouses.

Vizsla Silver’s Panuco silver ore project in Mexico, with its feasibility study results, demonstrates outstanding economic metrics. The project is expected to achieve annual production of 17.4 million ounces of silver equivalent over a 9.4-year mine life. Its after-tax net present value is as high as $1.8 billion, and its internal rate of return reached 111. At present, the enterprise has ample cash reserves exceeding $450 million, and project financing has been fully secured. The project is expected to commence first production in H2 2027, and the current permitting process is progressing steadily in line with expectations.

Entering March, as the bullish sentiment in precious metal prices weakened, some lead smelters became less willing to obtain silver-bearing lead concentrates raw materials by paying lower TCs. Although lead concentrate TCs have yet to see a substantive rebound, smelters generally stated that it remained difficult for mainstream lead concentrate TC quotations to rise in March, but the phenomenon of transactions involving scrambling for ore at extremely low prices has disappeared. As the absolute level of silver prices can still enable smelters to obtain relatively substantial profits, in March smelters did not have expectations of negotiating downward the relevant payable indicator.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Trade Rangebound; Bullish Sentiment for Spot Stainless Steel Weakens SMM News on March 6: SS futures showed a pattern of holding up well. SS moved in the doldrums during the night session, but after the daytime session opened, it gradually strengthened and probed higher, finally closing at 14,115 yuan/mt. In the spot market, spot quotes pulled back in the morning under the influence of weaker SS performance in the night session; however, as futures fluctuated upward, spot quotes also followed with some gains, and the overall adjustment was limited. Recently, affected by factors such as expectations for a high stainless steel production schedule in March, a slowdown in the rise of high-grade NPI prices, and a slow recovery in downstream demand, traders’ earlier bullish expectations have weakened somewhat, and their willingness to make shipments has increased. The most-traded SS futures contract fluctuated upward and strengthened. At 10:15 a.m., SS2604 was quoted at 14,240 yuan/mt, down 35 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi were in the 280-480 yuan/mt range. In the spot market, Wuxi cold-rolled 201/2B coils were generally steady; for cold-rolled mill-edge 304/2B coils, the average price in Wuxi fell 25 yuan/mt, while the average price in Foshan was steady; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi were steady; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils in Wuxi were quoted steady; cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan were steady. As the market enters the traditional peak consumption season of “Golden March and Silver April,” the stainless steel market is seeing a window for demand recovery. Downstream demand has gradually resumed work and production after the Chinese New Year holiday, and demand is showing a gradual recovery trend. However, although transactions have improved compared with the earlier period, the bustling peak-season momentum has yet to emerge. End-user procurement is mainly driven by rigid demand, with stockpiling…

In the short term, a stronger US dollar weighed on precious metals prices. Silver prices remained in the doldrums today; the spot-futures price spread between TD and the most-traded SHFE silver contract narrowed, and spot premiums still showed signs of further declines. In Shanghai, suppliers of national-standard silver ingots lowered their premiums over TD to quotes of 900-1,100 yuan/kg, but mainstream bulk deals were concentrated at TD+900-1,000 yuan/kg. High-premium quotes saw only small volumes of less than 1 mt, yet trading volume remained moderate. In some regions, cargoes self-picked up from production site at smelters were quoted at premiums of 850-1,000 yuan/kg over TD and were concluded on rigid demand. Quoted prices for silver ingots in the market still varied significantly, with large differences across different deal sizes and brands. After silver prices weakened, downstream buyers feared further declines and purchased cautiously, staying on the sidelines; deals were generally concluded after negotiating and adjusting prices with suppliers, and market trading turned slightly quieter.

New progress was made at Aya Gold & Silver’s Boumadine project in Morocco: a new parallel mineralized structure was identified within the project area, and drilling returned high-grade intervals (with silver equivalent up to 337 g/mt). To date, the project completed 28,900 meters of drilling this year, with 10 drill rigs currently operating continuously; an additional two rigs are expected to be added in March to accelerate resource growth and preparations for bringing the project into production.

[Frequent Supply Disruptions; Imported TCs Continued to Decline]: Weekly data showed that the average weekly TC for SMM Zn50 domestic remained flat at 1,550 yuan/mt in metal content, while the SMM Imported Zinc Concentrate Index fell by $8.37/dmt MoM to $15.38/dmt...

SMM reported on March 5 that this week, total inventory across the two major stainless steel markets of Wuxi and Foshan showed a slight upward trend, rising from 1.0161 million mt on February 26, 2026 to 1.0164 million mt on March 5, 2026, up 0.3% WoW. This week, stainless steel social inventory increased slightly, remaining at a high level above 1 million mt. The market had entered the traditional peak consumption season of “Golden March and Silver April.” Although downstream end-users had gradually resumed work and production, the pace of actual demand release was slow, and the strength of the recovery still needed to be verified. SS futures lacked momentum for further upside and fluctuated within the week, making it difficult for spot prices to improve. Wait-and-see sentiment strengthened, and overall confidence pulled back compared with the previous period. Supply side, stainless steel mills’ expected planned production for March had increased significantly, and supply pressure was gradually emerging. Although supply and demand had yet to achieve a good match and the effectiveness of social inventory drawdown remained uncertain, stainless steel currently had strong cost support. Nickel ore-related news continued to ferment and provided a floor, while steel mills were proactive in maintaining prices and boosting shipments, fully aligning with procurement demand after downstream resumption of work, effectively curbing further inventory buildup. Overall, this week’s inventory trend was mainly driven by factors including a slower-than-expected downstream recovery, increased supply expectations, a pullback in market confidence, and steel mills’ active shipments. Although there was still a short-term risk of inventory buildup, supported by strong cost-side support and steel mills’ proactive adjustments, stainless steel social inventory was expected to remain broadly stable. Whether inventories can be effectively drawn down going forward will still hinge on the actual pace of downstream demand recovery.