Spot Market and Domestic Inventory Brief Review (February 26, 2026) [SMM Silver Market Weekly Review]

This week, silver prices opened higher and continued to rise. At the beginning of the week, the premium quotes for physical silver ingots showed a relatively small difference compared to pre-holiday levels, with suppliers holding back sales and adopting a wait-and-see approach. Following the completion of physical deliveries for the Shanghai Futures Exchange's February contract, the supply of circulating goods in the market increased, leading to a gradual decline in premium quotes. However, significant price differences persisted among different brands of silver ingots. As of Thursday, the premium quotes for national standard silver ingots in the Shanghai market against TD had decreased to 1,600–1,800 yuan/kg, while large smelters maintained premium quotes of 1,700–2,000 yuan/kg, still holding back sales. In the Shenzhen area, some small smelters quoted premiums of 1,400–1,500 yuan/kg against TD. After the holiday, medium- to large-scale downstream enterprises exhibited a somewhat cautious stance, engaging only in just-in-time procurement. However, small- to medium-sized enterprises showed higher enthusiasm for stockpiling due to expectations of rising prices or depletion of pre-holiday inventories, leading to a gradual warming of transactions in the spot market.

Inventory side, the total social inventory of silver increased slightly this week. On one hand, downstream processing enterprises generally suspended operations during the Chinese New Year holiday, while silver refineries maintained normal production, resulting in the customary inventory buildup of domestic silver ingots during the holiday period. On the other hand, imported crude silver and large ingots that arrived before the holiday gradually entered the domestic market, temporarily alleviating the previous supply deficit of silver ingots. After the Chinese New Year holiday, smelters quickly destocked by transferring inventory to social inventory or shipping through long-term contracts and spot orders. Due to strong downstream industrial and investment demand for silver after the holiday, domestic social inventory recorded only a modest increase.