The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Consolidated at Highs During Night Session, Spot Market Transactions Recovered Slightly [SMM Tin Morning Brief]

SMM Tin Morning Brief, May 19, 2026:

Futures: The most-traded SHFE tin contract opened slightly higher and then hovered at highs, closing at 410,900 yuan/mt, up 0.98%.

Macro: (1) Dell Technologies stated that its main AI product line added 1,000 clients in the past quarter, underscoring the company's accelerating efforts to capture demand from traditional large enterprises in adopting AI workloads. Dell CEO Michael Dell said in an interview that the company's "AI Factory" client base had reached 5,000, up from 4,000 when it reported earnings in February. The product line primarily offers servers equipped with NVIDIA chips, software, and services to support AI computing. Clients using the system include Eli Lilly, Honeywell, and Samsung Electronics, with applications spanning drug R&D and AI-optimized semiconductor factory construction. (2) He Lifeng, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, met with Lisa Su, Chair and CEO of US-based Chilwee Semiconductor (AMD), at the Great Hall of the People on the afternoon of May 18. He Lifeng noted that last mid-week, the heads of state of China and the US held an important meeting in Beijing and reached a series of important consensuses. Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the economic and trade teams of both countries achieved overall balanced and positive outcomes, which will inject more certainty and stability into the next phase of China-US economic and trade cooperation and the world economy. He welcomed multinational companies including AMD to seize China's development opportunities and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation. Lisa Su spoke positively of the outcomes of the meeting between the two heads of state and expressed willingness to continue expanding business in China and increasing investment in China.

Fundamentals: (1) Supply side: Most smelters focused on stable production in May. (2) Demand side: Downstream purchase remained cautious, with procurement conducted based on order conditions.

Spot market: Market transactions recovered slightly. As the absolute price center shifted lower, downstream enterprises showed some purchase willingness, but buying sentiment remained cautious. Market transactions were dominated by spot orders and rigid demand follow-ups, with most placing low-price bids to test the market. Suppliers showed some sentiment to hold prices firm, and spot premiums for mainstream brands were raised slightly, with the mainstream range concentrated at 1,000-1,500 yuan/mt.

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