[SMM Weekly Survey of the Aluminum Downstream Sector: Downstream Aluminum Operating Rate Continued to Rebound to 61.9%, with High Prices Suppressing the Peak "Golden March" Season] This week, the weekly operating rate of leading downstream aluminum processing enterprises in China rose 2.4 percentage points MoM to 61.9%, overall extending the post-holiday recovery trend, with all segments rebounding MoM, and the industry as a whole entering a normal production pace.

[Information on Angang and Bensteel Group's Product Price Policy Adjustments for April 2026] Angang's product price policy for April 2026 was adjusted as follows based on the product price policy for March 2026: 1. Hot-rolled: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 2. Pickling: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 3. Cold-rolled: raised by 200 yuan/mt. Automotive steel was raised by 200 yuan/mt. In addition, Angangshen high-strength wire in the 590 MPa, 780 MPa, 980 MPa, and 1180 MPa grades was raised by 200 yuan/mt. 4. Cold-hard: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 5. Galvanizing: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 6. Non-oriented silicon steel: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 7. Color-coated: raised by 100 yuan/mt. 8. Medium-thickness plates: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 9. Wire rod: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 10. Rebar: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 11. Alloy surcharge: please refer to the price list for details. Angang Co., Ltd. Marketing Center Mar 2026 Bensteel Group's product price policy for April 2026 was adjusted as follows based on the product price policy for March 2026: 1. Hot-rolled: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 2. Pickling: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 3. Cold-rolled: raised by 200 yuan/mt. Automotive steel was raised by 200 yuan/mt. 4. Cold-hard: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 5. Galvanizing: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 6. Electrogalvanization: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 7. Non-oriented silicon steel: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 8. Wire rod: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 9. Rebar: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 10. Special steel: raised by 200 yuan/mt. 11. Alloy surcharge: please refer to the price list for details. Bensteel Group Sheets & Plates Marketing Center, Beiying Operation Center Mar 2026

[SMM Aluminum Morning Meeting Summary: The SHFE/LME Price Ratio Continued to Weaken, and Aluminum Prices Were Expected to Fluctuate at Highs in the Short Term] Against the backdrop of continued tightening LME liquidity, LME aluminum still had upward momentum, with strong support from overseas prices, and the backwardation structure was expected to persist in the short term. China was in a phase of high inventory + weak fundamentals, and its upward momentum was clearly weaker than that outside China. Amid diverging domestic and external drivers, the SHFE/LME price ratio was expected to continue weakening, and aluminum prices were expected to continue fluctuating at highs in the short term.

[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Rare Earth Prices Fell First, Then Rose; Pr-Nd, Dysprosium, and Terbium Saw Wide Swings] Due to the combined impact of market news and falling futures prices, suppliers in the Pr-Nd oxide market lacked confidence in the future market and proactively cut prices for shipments. However, upstream separation plants believed that the tight supply pattern of Pr-Nd oxide had not changed. Therefore, Pr-Nd oxide prices pulled back to 760,000-780,000 yuan/mt before rebounding to 790,000-800,000 yuan/mt.

Refined Cobalt: This week, spot refined cobalt fluctuated rangebound around 430,000 yuan/mt. On the supply side, mainstream smelters slightly lowered ex-factory prices, while traders' spot-futures price spread remained stable: regular brands were at discounts of 2,000 yuan/mt to parity, and high-end brands at premiums of 5,000–8,000 yuan/mt. On the demand side, cost pass-through downstream remained sluggish, with market participants mainly staying on the sidelines. Only sporadic rigid-demand restocking emerged, and transactions had yet to gain volume. Fundamentally, the arrival period for cobalt intermediate products remained unclear, and the structural tightness in raw materials was unchanged, leaving support at the bottom still in place. Looking ahead, as restocking demand is gradually released, refined cobalt prices are still expected to have upside room. Cobalt Intermediate Products: This week, cobalt intermediate product prices continued to hold steady. On the supply side, miners' export progress was slow, holders temporarily held back offers, and spot cargo available for circulation was scarce. On the demand side, raw material shortages at smelters worsened. Although purchase willingness remained, both buyers and sellers stayed cautious due to unstable supply and unclear downstream orders, and the market continued to see "offers but no trades." Overall, export delays cast doubt on the timing of bulk arrivals, and the structural tightness in raw materials in China may worsen further; once downstream orders are finalized and procurement restarts, intermediate product prices are still expected to have upward momentum. Going forward, attention should be paid to export progress in the DRC and the pace of demand recovery. Cobalt Sulphate: This week, spot cobalt sulphate prices held steady. On the supply side, supported by tight raw materials, most smelters kept offers firm in the 95,000–98,000 yuan/mt range; small smelters and traders under capital pressure had already completed cashing out from last week to early this week, and low-price offers in the market narrowed. On the demand side, uncertainty over downstream orders persisted, with most enterprises remaining on the sidelines. Post-holiday stockpiling willingness had yet to start, with only sporadic rigid-demand restocking and priority given to lower-priced cargoes. In the short term, the market remained in a period of social inventory digestion, with rangebound adjustments dominating; however, the raw material supply bottleneck in the DRC remained unresolved, domestic supply tightened periodically, and cost support still existed. After low-priced inventory is depleted, prices are expected to resume their rise.

[SMM Aluminum Price Weekly Review: Geopolitical Disruptions Dominate, Aluminum Prices Remain Elevated]

[[Weekly Review of Aluminum Scrap and Secondary Aluminum]]Aluminum Prices Strengthened This Week, Rising Costs Drove Up ADC12 Prices

[Spot Silicon Metal Prices Probe Higher as Market Transactions Remain Stagnant; Polysilicon Price Trend Declines]: On the supply side, production release from silicon metal capacity that resumed production in early March increased total silicon metal supply compared with early March. Recently, there have been scattered production resumptions in Southwest China, but these have not yet become widespread, so their impact on supply growth has been very limited. On the cost side, spot prices of silicon coal and electrodes have remained temporarily stable recently, while petroleum coke prices rose slightly. Coupled with higher gasoline prices, road transport freight rates were raised slightly, providing relatively strong cost support for silicon metal. On the demand side, performance has mainly remained stable recently. During the week, spot silicon metal transactions were stagnant, inventory in the intermediate segment stayed at a high level, and downstream demand was weak, so silicon metal prices had limited room to rise or fall and were mainly range-bound in consolidation.

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] The widening contango price spread between futures contracts for nearby months continued to strengthen suppliers’ willingness to ship to delivery warehouses, further tightening the availability of freely tradable spot copper and providing solid support for spot premiums. Against this backdrop, suppliers showed strong sentiment to hold prices firm during the day, with offers remaining firm. Demand side, downstream buyers maintained just-in-time procurement, providing some support for prices; supply side, although social inventory remained at a high level, more than half of the cargoes had already been converted into warrants, and spot circulation stayed tight. Shanghai added 1,759 mt of warrants yesterday, further intensifying the tightness in freely tradable cargo availability. Overall, under the dominance of delivery logic, Shanghai spot copper premiums are expected to remain in premium territory tomorrow.

SMM News, March 11: During the session, the most-traded SHFE lead 2604 contract opened at 16,605 yuan/mt. Prices dipped slightly in early trading, then fluctuated rangebound within the 16,630-16,650 yuan/mt range, with the overall trend relatively steady. On the eve of delivery, SHFE lead typically rallied. In the afternoon session, lead prices fluctuated upward, hitting a high of 16,735 yuan/mt. However, dragged down by weak fundamentals, lead prices fluctuated downward and closed at 16,680 yuan/mt, up 30 yuan/mt, a gain of 0.18%. As downstream purchase willingness remained weak, lead ingot inventories at medium- and large-scale smelters in Henan and other regions continued to build and were steadily transferred to social warehouses. Secondary lead smelters showed low willingness to sell, and spot discounts narrowed somewhat. Overall, the pattern of both weak supply and weak demand remained unchanged, and lead prices are expected to remain in the doldrums in the short term. Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and SMM’s internal database models, and are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making advice.