[SMM Analysis: How Will Lead-Acid Battery Export Trends Evolve in November-December Amid Price Spreads and Tariff Impacts?] SMM, December 22: According to customs data, China's lead-acid battery exports totaled 15.776 million units in November 2025, down 5.05% MoM and down 21.25% YoY. Cumulative lead-acid battery exports from January to November 2025 reached 202 million units, down 10.36% YoY.

According to customs data, China's nickel iron imports totaled 895,500 mt in physical content in November 2025, down 1.1% MoM but up 1.4% YoY.

[SMM Analysis:It was like holding up a collapsing tower]Over the past three years, as China's smelting capacity for primary smelting has been concentratedly commissioned, year-end negotiations between Chinese smelters and Antofagasta have been particularly challenging. Since the end of last month, Antofagasta consistently maintained its Benchmark offer to Chinese smelters in the mid-negative $10 from the first to the second round. During this period, the China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT) and the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association repeatedly stated their firm stance: they would not accept any long-term pricing system other than the Benchmark, would not accept a negative Benchmark result, and were determined to reduce primary smelting output. Expectations for production cuts in primary smelting among Chinese copper smelters grew stronger. Facing these difficulties head-on, Chinese smelters, with one leading enterprise arguing forcefully on principle and without conceding on other terms, finally reached a $0 agreement with Antofagasta on the night of December 19, paving the way for other participating Chinese smelters to follow suit. Prior to this, market pessimism was rampant, with bearish narratives circulating widely. Given the mining company's persistent negative offers over multiple rounds, the market generally expected Chinese smelters to reluctantly accept a negative figure, ushering in an era of negative annual contracts. From the outcome, these negotiations were nothing short of turning the tide and preventing a catastrophic collapse.

SMM News, December 19th：The skyrocketing tungsten prices have exerted disparate impacts on different enterprises across the tungsten industrial chain. Below is a summary of survey findings from upstream mining enterprises, midstream smelters, and downstream cemented carbide & cutting tool manufacturers:

In 2025, the global nickel pig iron (NPI) market, influenced by the interplay of supply-demand dynamics, cost fluctuations, and policy environment, exhibited an overall trend of "fluctuations in the first half of the year, followed by initial stability and subsequent weakness in the second half." Significant divergence was observed between the two core production regions, China and Indonesia. Price trends shifted from cost-supported increases at the beginning of the year to off-season demand-driven declines by year-end. Throughout the year, the industry revolved around two fundamental themes: "capacity release and cost constraints on the supply side, and volatility in the stainless steel industry on the demand side."