[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.

[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.

[Operating Rates of Galvanising Producers Continued to Increase]: This week, the operating rate of the galvanizing industry was 53, up 13.94 percentage points WoW. Raw material side, zinc prices fluctuated this week, and zinc ingots previously price-fixed by galvanising enterprises arrived one after another, leading to a slight increase in zinc ingot inventory at galvanising enterprises.

[SMM Zinc Morning Comment] Overnight, the most-traded SHFE zinc 2604 contract opened at 24,360 yuan/mt. In early trading, SHFE zinc briefly touched a high of 24,390 yuan/mt, then quickly fell to a low of 24,205 yuan/mt. Thereafter, amid a tug-of-war between longs and shorts, SHFE zinc fluctuated rangebound and finally closed down at 24,240 yuan/mt, down 60 yuan/mt, or 0.25%. Trading volume decreased to 35,766 lots, while open interest increased by 1,359 lots to 74,085 lots.

[Repeated Macro Sentiment Led to Wide Swings in SHFE Zinc]: The most-traded SHFE zinc 2604 contract opened at 24,370 yuan/mt. SHFE zinc briefly rose in early trading to a high of 24,460 yuan/mt, after which bulls reduced their open interest, and SHFE zinc fluctuated downward with its center moving lower, eventually closing down at 24,300 yuan/mt, down 85 yuan/mt, or 0.35%. Trading volume increased to 109,000 lots, while open interest fell by 1,494 lots to 74,220 lots.

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.

[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...

Silver prices fluctuated rangebound today, while spot market premiums still showed signs of continuing to decline, and downstream transactions were still mainly concluded through substantial bargaining. In Shanghai, mainstream quotations from suppliers of domestic standard silver ingots were tentatively quoted at premiums of 600-700 yuan/kg against TD, but due to increased supply, weakening downstream consumption, and substantial bargaining, actual transaction premiums fell to 500 yuan/kg. In Shenzhen, premiums of domestic standard small silver ingots against TD dropped to 400 yuan/kg, while premiums for large ingots declined to 300-400 yuan/kg. As suppliers increased sell-offs and shipped more cargo to the Shanghai market, transaction prices in Shanghai were slightly dragged lower as a result. Some downstream consumers suspended purchases after completing post-holiday restocking, and buyers still largely stayed on the sidelines today, continuing to buy the dip through substantial bargaining. Suppliers gradually ended their efforts to hold prices firm and withhold sales, and successively adjusted prices to make shipments, while spot market transactions remained relatively sluggish.

[SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Sticky US Inflation Persisted, and the Center of LME Zinc Moved Lower] Overnight, LME zinc opened at $3,313/mt. In early trading, LME zinc maintained a fluctuating trend and touched a high of $3,352/mt. Entering the European trading session, LME zinc quickly fell to a low of $3,296.5/mt. In the night session, LME zinc gradually recovered its losses and fluctuated upward, hovering near the daily average line, before closing down at $3,315.5/mt, down $26.5/mt, or 0.79%. Trading volume decreased to 91,642 lots, and open interest increased by 494 lots to 217,000 lots.

[SMM Chromium Weekly Review: Costs and Demand Jointly Drove the Market, with Strongly Bullish Sentiment] March 13, 2026: Quotations remained unchanged for the time being, and the chromium market operated steadily...