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【SMM Analysis: Pre-Holiday Copper Cathode Inventory Buildup Hits Four-Year Low, Supply Tightens, Demand Shows Resilience】Ahead of the Chinese New Year this year, the copper cathode inventory buildup process slowed down significantly......

[SMM Aluminum Express News] Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund Danantara (Badan Pengelola Investasi Daya Anagata Nusantara) has taken full control of the strategic PLTSa (waste-to-energy power plant) project in Samarinda, East Kalimantan. Head of Samarinda PUPR Office Desy Damayanti stated that per the latest 2026 central government regulation, local governments can no longer pursue independent agreements with investors, all PLTSa projects must go through Danantara as a single gateway. This centralization ensures uniform technology standards, financing schemes, and national oversight across Indonesia. It automatically cancels Samarinda's prior negotiations with a South Korean investor.

[Overseas Lead Smelter Dynamics] According to the Q4 2025 financial report released on Korea Zinc's official website, the company's full-year lead ingot sales in 2025 totaled 404,200 mt, down 9.29% YoY, falling short of the annual target of 450,000 mt with a 90% completion rate. The planned lead volume for 2026 is 430,000 mt.

According to the latest survey conducted by SMM on 12 February, total inventory across the 10 monitored ports stood at 116.74 million tonnes, representing a decline of 1.05 million tonnes compared to the previous period. In terms of specific product categories, stocks of coarse fines and concentrates experienced a marginal accumulation. Conversely, inventories of lump ore and pellets registered a slight destocking.

[January Electrolyte Supply-Demand Contraction and Prices Slightly Rose Affected by Lagged Cost Transmission] In January 2026, the electrolyte market exhibited a pattern of simultaneous contraction on both the supply and demand sides, with prices rising slightly, primarily influenced by weakening end-use demand and the lagged transmission of raw material costs.

[SMM Brass Billet Express] This week (February 6–February 12), the operating rate of the brass billet industry fell 6.09 percentage points MoM to 40.31%, and production activity pulled back. As the Chinese New Year holiday approached, new orders from downstream sectors cooled significantly, and enterprise production pace continued to slow down. The industry will fully enter holiday mode next week, and the operating rate is expected to drop to 0%. Attention will be paid to post-holiday work resumption and demand recovery.

[Cost Rise Fails to Provide Support, Weak Demand Leads to Decline in Both Volume and Price of LiPF6 in January] In January 2026, the LiPF6 market exhibited a simultaneous decline in both production and prices, primarily driven by a combination of factors including weakening end-use demand, subdued downstream purchase willingness, and a loose supply-demand pattern.

The International Energy Agency reported that last year's oil inventory increase reached the highest level since 2020. It has revised down the global oil demand forecast for 2026 from 105 million barrels per day to 104.9 million barrels per day.

[KZ Releases Q4 Report] On February 10, Korea Zinc released its Q4 2025 report. The report shows that the company's zinc ingot sales volume reached 590,700 mt in 2025, with an annual production plan completion rate of 94%, down 8% YoY. The target for 2026 is set at 600,000 mt.

Great Power Energy (300438.SZ) announced that the company plans to invest in the construction of a 587Ah battery and 120Ah battery production project in Yicheng District, Zhumadian City, with a total investment of 1.2 billion yuan.