[Weak Spot Demand During the Week, Wider Spot Discounts]: This week, spot discounts in Ningbo widened, with the weekly average price down 20 yuan/mt WoW. As of Friday this week, spot prices in Ningbo against the 2604 contract were at a discount of 100 yuan/mt and at a premium of 20 yuan/mt against Shanghai, with the premium against Shanghai fluctuating during the week..

[Spot Premiums Recovered Slowly, but the Center Was Expected to Move Lower Next Week] This week, premiums in Guangdong rose by about 30 yuan/mt WoW. As of this Friday, mainstream 0# zinc in Guangdong was quoted at a discount of 80 yuan/mt, and the Shanghai-Guangdong price spread widened......

[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: Spot Lithium Carbonate Prices Fluctuated Upward on March 13] SMM's battery-grade lithium carbonate index price fluctuated upward from the previous working day. Futures trend, the most-traded contract fluctuated higher after opening and once climbed to around 163,000 yuan/mt; after the midday session, the price reversed downward and once fell to 150,000 yuan/mt near the close, then fluctuated rangebound at low levels until the close. As of the close, open interest for the day decreased by about 8,500 lots from the previous trading day. Actual transactions, upstream lithium chemical plants showed a clear reluctance to sell and held prices firm, while willingness to sell spot orders remained weak; downstream material plants still mainly stayed cautious and on the sidelines, maintaining only just-in-time procurement. Overall, both market inquiries and actual transactions were sluggish. As for subsequent price movements, given that downstream procurement sentiment remained cautious and the market lacked sustained momentum to chase higher prices, lithium carbonate prices were expected to continue a fluctuating trend in the short term.

[Environmental Protection Measures in Northern China Weighed, Overall Trading Was Average This Week]: Spot premiums in Tianjin were flat WoW this week. As of this Friday, in China, standard domestic brands were quoted at discounts of around 50-100 yuan/mt against the 2604 contract, high-priced brands at discounts of around 30-60 yuan/mt against the 2604 contract, and Tianjin was quoted at a premium of around 10 yuan/mt against Shanghai.

Spot #1 copper cathode in North China was quoted at parity to a premium of 80 yuan/mt against the front-month contract today, with the average premium unchanged from the previous trading day at 40 yuan/mt, and the average transaction price down 155 yuan/mt from the previous trading day to 100,470 yuan/mt.

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to next week, next Monday will be the last trading day of the SHFE copper 2603 contract. According to the SMM #1 copper cathode price assessment methodology, SMM always quotes against the front-month contract. The contango price spread between futures contracts narrowed slightly, and suppliers’ willingness to ship to delivery warehouses weakened somewhat, marginally loosening support for spot premiums. Meanwhile, import losses have narrowed substantially, and there are signs that the import window is about to open. If the window opens, it will bring in cargo from outside China, increasing pressure on spot supply in China and creating potential downward pressure on premiums. On the demand side, downstream enterprises maintained just-in-time procurement, providing some support for prices, but intraday, some downstream enterprises were seen to have limited acceptance of spot cargo with high premiums, with procurement turning more cautious. On the supply side, domestic copper and previously price-locked imported cargo continued to arrive, while social inventory remained high. As SMM always quotes against the front-month contract, the shift in the price spread between futures contracts is expected to result in high premiums against the front-month contract, though this is expected to be corrected on the second trading day. Overall, under the dominance of delivery logic, Shanghai spot copper premiums are expected to remain at elevated levels next Monday.

In the spot market, this week (March 09, 2026-March 13, 2026), supply in the refined lead spot market gradually resumed, and imported lead ingots continued to enter the market, leaving ample spot cargo available in circulation. Downstream inventory was digested slowly, with only limited just-in-time procurement. This week, mainstream transaction prices for primary lead in Henan still traded at slight discounts to the SMM #1 lead average price. Although some traders held prices firm and were reluctant to sell, downstream buyers actively negotiated prices, making transactions at premiums relatively difficult. Supply in Hunan recovered slowly, but remained relatively tight, with smelters and suppliers quoting premiums of 0-25 yuan/mt against the SMM #1 lead average price, and transactions were concluded mainly on rigid demand. This week, the overall fundamentals of the lead spot market remained weak, downstream consumption and stockpiling enthusiasm were poor, and overall spot order transactions were sluggish.

SMM March 12 News: Today, Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot prices against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was quoted at 160 yuan/mt, unchanged from yesterday; standard-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 40 yuan/mt, unchanged from yesterday; SX-EW copper was quoted at a discount of 20 yuan/mt, unchanged from yesterday. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 100,595 yuan/mt, down 265 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, and the average price of SX-EW copper was 100,475 yuan/mt, down 265 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot market: Guangdong inventory had declined sharply for three consecutive days, mainly due to an increase in shipments. Current inventory had fallen by 10kt from the year-to-date high. Although inventory continued to fall today, traders and downstream buyers were markedly less active in restocking than yesterday; however, suppliers were unwilling to cut prices to sell, with significant disagreements between buyers and sellers, resulting in poor overall transactions. Today, purchasing sentiment for copper cathode in Guangdong was 2.4, down 0.11 from the previous trading day, and shipment sentiment was 3.3, down 0.27 from the previous trading day (historical data can be queried by logging into the database). Overall, traders and downstream buyers were markedly less active in restocking than yesterday, and spot premiums were unchanged from yesterday.

Stainless steel spot prices were stable this week, but production costs rose somewhat, further squeezing stainless steel mills’ profit margins. Taking 304 cold-rolled products as an example, based on raw material prices on the day, the full-cost profit margin was -1.27% this week; calculated based on raw material inventory costs, it reached 2.21%. Nickel raw material cost side, high-grade NPI prices edged up further this week. Although a major stainless steel mill recently set relatively low procurement tender prices for high-grade NPI, strong nickel ore prices continued to provide solid cost support for NPI, traders showed strong willingness to hold prices firm, and the overall market remained bullish. Coupled with high stainless steel production schedules in March, downstream stainless steel mills maintained strong raw material demand, and the psychological price level also moved up gradually. In the short term, high-grade NPI prices were more likely to rise than fall. As of this Friday, high-grade NPI with a grade of 10-12% rose by 6.5 yuan per nickel unit to 1,094.5 yuan/nickel unit. Stainless steel scrap market side, stainless steel scrap prices strengthened this week, mainly due to the linkage with furnace charge, economic advantages, and demand support. Firm high-grade NPI and high-carbon ferrochrome prices boosted steel scrap prices higher. Stainless steel production schedules are expected to increase in March, boosting procurement demand. Stainless steel scrap still had an economic advantage over high-grade NPI, supporting bullish sentiment. However, downstream demand recovery remained limited, stainless steel social inventory stayed high, and finished product prices lacked momentum for further gains, constraining upside room for steel scrap prices. Overall, the market showed a pattern of “rising prices, raw material support, and demand under pressure,” and prices are expected to remain generally stable with slight rise going forward. As of this Friday, the price of 304 off-cuts in Shanghai rose by 600 yuan/mt to around 10,250 yuan/mt. Chrome raw material cost side, high-carbon ferrochrome prices rose slightly this week. Overseas market chrome ore futures prices continued to climb, and China chrome ore spot quotations moved up in tandem. Ferrochrome smelting costs increased, ferrochrome producers’ profits narrowed significantly, and with retail spot supply of high-carbon ferrochrome remaining tight and stainless steel production schedules staying high in March, ferrochrome prices were supported to edge up further. As of this Friday, high-carbon ferrochrome prices in Inner Mongolia rose 50 yuan/mt (50% metal content) WoW to 8,650 yuan/mt (50% metal content).