SMM News, March 6: This week, LME lead opened at around $1,962.0/mt. In early trading, amid a tug-of-war between longs and shorts, it saw wide swings around $1,966/mt, hitting a high of $1,981.5/mt. As overseas geopolitical risks intensified, base metals broadly fell during the European session, and the center of LME lead moved down to around $1,943.5/mt, once dipping to the weekly low of $1,927/mt. Sentiment then recovered, and lead prices fluctuated upward but struggled to rebound, failing to break through resistance. It weakened again toward the close and finally settled at $1,948.5/mt, down $11/mt from the start of the week, a decline of about 0.56%. This week, the most-traded SHFE lead contract opened at around 16,805 yuan/mt. Boosted by geopolitical factors, broad gains in the base metals sector drove lead prices to strengthen amid fluctuations, reaching a high of 17,020 yuan/mt. Subsequently, affected by weak supply and demand in the spot market, prices lacked support and pulled back amid fluctuations, dipping to 16,710 yuan/mt. Mid-week, it fluctuated rangebound around the daily moving average. It rebounded slightly toward the close but remained at low levels overall, finally settling at around 16,775 yuan/mt, down about 65 yuan/mt WoW, a decline of about 0.39%. > Subscribe to view SMM historical spot metal prices

[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...

This week, ferrous metals held up well within a narrow range. Over the weekend, turmoil in the Middle East and the escalation of the U.S.-Iran conflict triggered wild swings in the international energy market, sending energy and precious metals sharply higher, while ferrous metals—except coking coal and coke—mostly retreated after rapid rise following the open; mid-week, although there were bullish expectations around the Two Sessions, no new news emerged, the steel market remained relatively stable, and the pattern of raw materials outperforming finished steel products continued; in the latter half of the week, the Two Sessions’ macro conclusions met expectations, but had already been priced in by futures earlier, and high-level fluctuations in international oil prices continued to support raw materials, in turn pushing ferrous metals to edge higher on a steady footing. In the spot market, in the second week after the holiday, the market gradually resumed work and resumed production, but with insufficient momentum from futures, overall willingness to purchase was not high, and transactions were mainly concluded at low prices......

As of now, the FOB price of Indonesian MHP nickel was $15,418/mt Ni in metal content, and the FOB price of Indonesian MHP cobalt was $49,918/mt Co. MHP payables (against the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index) were 85.5-86.5, and the payable indicator for MHP cobalt element (against SMM refined cobalt (Rotterdam warehouse)) was 91. The FOB price of Indonesian high-grade nickel matte was $15,777/mt Ni in metal content.

[SHFE/LME Price Ratio Rebounded and Hovered Around 7.4]: This week, the SHFE/LME price ratio rebounded and fluctuated around just below 7.4, and the zinc ingot import window remained closed. Overseas, continued destocking supported the upward shift in the center of LME zinc; subsequently, as geopolitical developments fueled inflation concerns, a stronger US dollar pressured the base metals sector, and LME zinc retreated after rapid rise, with its center moving lower.

[SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: Macro Sentiment-Driven, LME Zinc Center Shifts Lower] Overnight, LME zinc posted a large bearish candlestick, with the upper Bollinger Bands midline forming resistance and the lower 60-day moving average providing support. The Middle East conflict escalated, the US dollar strengthened, oil prices hit a new high since July of the year before last, inflation expectations rose, and the US Fed......

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 News on March 6: From February 27, 2026 to March 6, 2026, the weekly operating rate of SMM secondary lead across four provinces was 27.12%, down 2.6 percentage points WoW. Most smelters in Anhui had yet to resume production, while smelters in Henan cut production due to tight raw material supply; workers at smelters in Jiangsu returned to work after the Lantern Festival, and the operating rate increased by about 5 percentage points this week; the operating rate in Inner Mongolia was flat WoW. Affected by factors including environmental protection requirements during the Two Sessions, tight raw material supply, and weak downstream demand, secondary lead smelters’ production resumptions were concentrated at month-end March, and SMM expected relatively small fluctuations in the operating rate next week. > Subscribe to view SMM historical metal spot prices

[SMM Zinc Morning Comment] Overnight, SHFE zinc posted a small bearish candlestick. The 5-day moving average above formed resistance, while the 60-day moving average below provided support. Overnight, base metals generally fell, while on the fundamentals side for zinc...

SMM News on March 6: This week, secondary lead premiums showed clear regional divergence, with parity prevailing overall, and most suppliers refusing to ship at a discount; only some cargoes in South China and Central China were offered at a discount of 100-50 yuan/mt against the SMM #1 lead average price. In terms of profits, scrap battery prices stayed firm, making it difficult for smelters to reduce costs, and industry losses continued. As of March 6, 2026, the theoretical comprehensive profit/loss for large-scale enterprises was -330 yuan/mt, and -543 yuan/mt for small and medium-sized enterprises (by-product revenue in the model excluded tin and antimony). Looking into next week, SMM expected supply tightness in raw materials to persist, leading the secondary lead operating rate to maintain its downward trend; under loss pressure, suppliers were likely to narrow discounts or keep parity offers, while downstream battery producers still made just-in-time procurement on a wait-and-see basis, resulting in relatively light market transactions. 》Subscribe to view SMM metal spot historical prices