News

China will enter Lunar New Year holidays next week, with logistics and scrap traders suspending operations, ending pre-holiday restocking. As the world’s largest copper scrap consumer steps back, demand across Asia has weakened. South Korea has seen clearer pressure, with No.2 scrap discounts falling from around 90% to 88%–89%. Japan, without a holiday shutdown, shows only a mild adjustment of about 0.5% in discounts.

[SMM Aluminum Alloy Daily Review] Futures side, the aluminum alloy 2603 contract opened at 22,250 yuan/mt, with the futures fluctuating downward overall, breaking below the 22,000 yuan/mt mark. It hit a bottom of 21,860 yuan/mt during the day and finally closed at 21,915 yuan/mt, down 680 yuan/mt or 3.01% from the previous close, mainly driven by bulls reducing positions. Spot market side, the SMM ADC12 price dropped by 200 yuan/mt to 23,600 yuan/mt. As futures weakened again, secondary aluminum market offers generally followed the decline. Driven by the price pullback, downstream users mainly restocked on dips, leading to a slight improvement in transactions. Supply side, as the Chinese New Year approaches, secondary aluminum plants have successively clarified their production plans for t

[SMM Tin Midday Review: SHFE Tin Contract Fell 7% Today, Macro Pullback Coupled with Holiday Impact Limited Overall Demand Recovery]

Demand for high-copper scrap such as cables and radiators has risen sharply, with prices up >20% in recent months and processing centers seeing heavy daily trade — reflecting robust demand in secondary copper supply channels.

Mueller Industries, operating in recycled-content copper and brass, reported net income up more than 11% in Q4 and full-year 2025, highlighting strong performance even amid volatile copper pricing environments.

[SMM Aluminum Alloy Daily Report] Futures side, the aluminum alloy 2603 contract opened at 22,310 yuan/mt, surged to the intraday high of 22,595 yuan/mt by the close, up 380 yuan/mt or 1.71% from the previous settlement, mainly driven by bears reducing positions. Spot market side, SMM ADC12 price rose 150 yuan/mt to 23,800 yuan/mt. While futures showed a clear rebound, secondary aluminum smelters' offers diverged: some enterprises raised quotes by 200 yuan/mt following market trends, largely recovering the previous day's decline; others, constrained by weak orders, kept offers steady and adopted a wait-and-see approach. With aluminum prices rebounding, market procurement sentiment improved slightly compared to earlier, but downstream buyers continued to make just-in-time procurement.

Reuters reports that while copper and other base metals are forecast to gain year-over-year on strong demand signals, analysts caution that recent sharp rallies may not be sustainable, with speculative price pressures potentially deterring real industrial consumption.

An report notes that around 40% of post-consumer copper scrap is not formally recycled, representing millions of tonnes of recoverable potential by 2035, highlighting an opportunity for recycling expansion to support supply security and sustainability.

[SMM Tin Midday Review: The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Erases Half-Month's Gains in Two Days, Spot Market Trading Recovers]

In early 2026, both copper and scrap metal prices reached record highs with scrap copper wholesale price gains of EUR 15–20 per 100 kg in Germany before moderating slightly as market volatility increased.

[SMM Secondary Aluminum Alloy Daily Review] Futures side, the secondary aluminum alloy 2603 contract opened at 22,700 yuan/mt today, then fluctuated downward, with the intraday decline continuing to widen. In the afternoon, the price further dropped to 21,840 yuan/mt, hitting the 7% limit down, essentially erasing all gains since January. Affected by falling precious metal prices and weakening macro expectations for interest rate cuts, market risk appetite saw a significant pullback, and the non-ferrous metals sector overall came under pressure and declined. Spot market side, the SMM ADC12 price today was lowered by 500 yuan/mt to 23,850 yuan/mt. Influenced by the continued weakness in futures, producer offers accelerated their downward adjustments, and the intraday decline noticeably expa

[SMM Tin Midday Review: Macro Sentiment Shift Coupled with Rational Correction, the Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Quickly Hit Limit Down in Morning Session]