On March 5, the People’s Government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region officially issued the “Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,” clearly listing hydrogen energy storage, rare earth new materials, and green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol as strategic priorities, accelerating the development of the entire industry chain for green hydrogen, and building a nationally important high ground for the energy storage industry, thereby charting a clear path for energy transition and industrial upgrading. I. Hydrogen Energy Storage: Building the Entire Industry Chain and Sprinting Toward an Energy Storage Scale of 60 million kW The Outline proposed to expand and strengthen the hydrogen energy storage industry , with the core goals and measures as follows: Full-chain deployment of green hydrogen : Accelerate the development of the entire industry chain for green hydrogen—“ production, storage, transportation, and use ”—and build green hydrogen, green ammonia, and green methanol industry clusters; advance cross-provincial and cross-regional long-distance hydrogen-ammonia-methanol pipeline projects, and moderately make forward-looking arrangements for green hydrogen storage and transportation infrastructure. Leap in energy storage scale : Advance pumped-storage hydropower in stages, implement a special action for the large-scale development of new-type energy storage, and build a diversified energy storage system; by the end of the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, new-type ESS installations are expected to reach 60 million kW , and demand-side response capability is expected to exceed 5 of the region’s maximum load. Coordinated pipeline network upgrade : Optimize the oil and gas pipeline network; by the end of the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, natural gas pipeline mileage is expected to exceed 8,000 km , while the green hydrogen storage and transportation network will be improved in parallel. II. Rare Earth Industry: Extending, Supplementing, and Strengthening the Industry Chain, with a Focus on High-End Materials Such as Hydrogen Storage The Outline made clear to accelerate extending, supplementing, and strengthening the industry chain for the light rare earth industry , with a focus on developing: high-performance magnetic materials, high-performance polishing materials, hydrogen storage materials , catalytic materials and additives, rare earth steel, and other high-end rare earth new materials and end-use applications industries. Leveraging its advantages in rare earth resources, it will provide critical material support for industries such as hydrogen energy and new energy, and build a nationally leading base for rare earth new materials. III. Scientific and Technological Innovation: Focusing on Advantageous Fields Such as Green Hydrogen-Ammonia-Methanol The Outline proposed to implement a number of major science and technology tasks , focusing on fields including: new energy, rare earth new materials, carbon-based new materials, semiconductor new materials, green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol , biopharmaceuticals, biological breeding, and grassland and dairy industries, among others. It will deliver more landmark original achievements, providing technological support for the green hydrogen, green ammonia, and green methanol industries. IV. Significance of the Plan: Anchoring National Strategy and Leading the Energy Transition This plan closely integrates hydrogen energy, energy storage, rare earths, and green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol. It is not only a key measure to implement the country’s “dual carbon” goals, but also a core lever for Inner Mongolia to leverage its two major strengths in wind and solar power resources and rare earth resources and build a nationally important base for energy and strategic resources. As a number of wind and solar power-based hydrogen production projects, such as the Huadian Darhan Muminggan Banner project, advance, Inner Mongolia is accelerating its transformation from a major energy region into a leading green hydrogen region and an energy storage hub .

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.

[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.

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.

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.

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......

This week (March 6–12), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises was 66.59, up 5.69 points MoM and down 10.62 points YoY. The operating rate steadily rebounded this week, mainly due to a slight correction in copper prices that drove order release, coupled with support from concentrated power grid deliveries, though the current pace of order recovery remained weaker than in the same period last year. By sector, orders from the power segment continued to support enterprise production schedules, orders from the new energy segment also improved, while construction project orders remained weak, dragging on overall operating rates. Inventory side, the correction in copper prices drove enterprises to restock for rigid demand, but as enterprises maintained production schedules, days of raw material inventories fell 0.31 days MoM this week; for finished product inventories, the correction in copper prices boosted downstream consumption, but high copper prices still restrained end-user purchase willingness, so days of finished product inventories fell 0.41 days MoM. Looking ahead to next week, current orders on hand from the power and new energy sectors will continue to provide the main support for production scheduling. SMM expects the operating rate of copper wire and cable next week (March 13–19) to increase 3.45 points MoM to 70.04, down 4.49 points YoY.

On March 13, the average price of SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate rose slightly.

SMM News, March 13: The SMM weekly operating rate of secondary lead in four provinces stood at 29.15% from March 6 to March 12, 2026, up 2.03 percentage points WoW. The operating rate in Anhui fluctuated around 15%, with no further signs of production resumptions at local secondary lead smelters; in Henan, the operating rate at a few smelters edged up as raw material inventory increased; in Jiangsu and Inner Mongolia, some smelters had yet to resume production, while operating smelters said raw material supply remained tight and constrained production growth. Next week, as large smelters in Shandong and Jiangxi resume production after the holiday and release capacity, weekly secondary lead production is expected to increase; actual market conditions still need to be monitored for constraints from factors such as raw material supply and downstream procurement sentiment. 》Subscribe to View Historical SMM Metal Spot Prices

[SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Affected by Macro Disturbances, LME Zinc Maintained Wide Swings] LME zinc opened at $3,316/mt. In early trading, LME zinc fluctuated upward and touched a high of $3,331.50/mt, after which prices fell rapidly. It then rose and recovered the losses, but during European trading hours, as bears reduced open interest, LME zinc quickly dipped to $3,284/mt. In the night session, amid a tug-of-war between longs and shorts, LME zinc gradually recouped the losses and returned to fluctuate above the average price line, finally closing down at $3,314.50/mt, down $1/mt, or 0.03%. Trading volume decreased to 82,887 lots, and open interest increased by 527 lots to 217,000 lots.