Brief Review of the Spot Market and China Inventory (April 2, 2026) [SMM Silver Market Weekly Review]

This week, the price spread between the TD price on the Gold Exchange and the SHFE April contract did not continue to narrow, and the total quoted trading volume of circulating imported silver ingot cargoes in the market had already declined from March. Although many suppliers still held prices firm and were reluctant to sell due to costs and delivery intentions, among other reasons, downstream just-in-time procurement generally transacted at sharply lowered premiums after aggressive bargaining. Investment demand in the Shenzhen market was sluggish, and some suppliers dumped non-registered brand silver ingots at quotes on parity with TD or at slight discounts. Overall spot market transactions remained weak. As of Thursday, tradable quotes for standard silver ingots in the Shanghai market against TD premiums edged down to 60-80 yuan/kg, while a small number of end-users' small orders of less than 50 kg were still concluded at premiums of 80-100 yuan/kg. Some holders of standard silver ingots suspended quotations and intended to make delivery, while enthusiasm for stockpiling on dips did not improve, and sluggish spot market trading remained unchanged.
Inventory side, spot market consumption did not improve this week. Downstream just-in-time procurement maintained aggressive bargaining, with transactions mainly concluded at lowered premiums. Many suppliers did not accept price cuts to sell cargoes, and mentioned increased delivery intentions next week, transferring silver ingot inventory from non-delivery warehouses to delivery warehouses. Social inventory of silver ingots posted a slight buildup.