The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Fluctuated Downward After the Opening of the Night Session, Spot Tin Transactions Were Relatively Sluggish [SMM Tin Morning Brief]

SMM Tin Morning Comment, March 18, 2026:

Futures: the most-traded SHFE tin contract fluctuated downward after opening in the night session, and closed at 370,920 yuan/mt, down 2.34%.

Macro: (1) A Reuters Tankan survey showed that Japanese manufacturers' sentiment rose in March to the highest level in more than four years, supported by the chemical and petroleum industries as well as a recovery in the semiconductor market, though conflict in the Middle East, rising costs, and weak demand still weighed on the outlook. The manufacturing business sentiment index rose to 18 in March, the highest level since December 2021. The sentiment index for the chemical industry jumped to 21, mainly driven by increased demand from chip-related industries. The indices for the petroleum and ceramics industries rose to 25, while the sentiment index for the transportation machinery industry climbed to 36. Some sectors lagged behind, with the sentiment index for the textile, paper, and pulp industries plunging from 20 to 11. A manager at a paper and pulp company said, "The US-Iran conflict has caused clients to adopt a wait-and-see stance, making future demand difficult to predict." Sentiment in the steel and non-ferrous metals industries remained deeply negative at -25, with weakening steel orders related to automobiles seen as the main reason. The non-manufacturing business sentiment index was unchanged at 25 in March. (2) Canadian Solar Inc. announced that e-STORAGE, its subsidiary specializing in energy storage solutions, had signed a supply agreement with a large utility outside China to provide BESS for an energy storage project of approximately 500 MW/2,493 MWh (DC). The project will support rapidly growing electricity demand from data centers and enhance the resilience and reliability of the regional power grid. Under the agreement, e-STORAGE will provide approximately 500 SolBank 3.0 ESS units for the project. Equipment shipments are expected to begin in March 2027 and be completed by July of the same year.

Fundamentals: (1) Supply side: In March, most smelters are expected to gradually resume production and work, ending their holiday status. (2) Demand side: Downstream purchasing remained cautious. Downstream enterprises will gradually begin to resume production and work, but orders were relatively mediocre.

Spot market: Trading in the spot market was relatively mediocre yesterday. Most traders only concluded transactions of around 10 mt, while a small number of traders transacted more than 20 mt. Most downstream enterprises remained on the sidelines yesterday in response to rising tin prices, with poor purchase willingness and only a small number of rigid-demand orders placed.

[Data Source Disclaimer: Except for public information, all other data is derived by SMM based on public information, market communication, and SMM's internal database model, and is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice. The information provided is for reference only. This article does not constitute direct advice for investment research decisions. Clients should make decisions prudently and should not use this as a substitute for their own independent judgment. Any decisions made by clients are unrelated to SMM.]