[SMM Tin Midday Review: Limited Short-Term Supply Increase in Domestic Smelting Sector, SHFE Tin Prices Fluctuate at Highs, Suppressing Spot Cargo Transactions] The most-traded SHFE tin contract (SN2506) continued to fluctuate at highs in the morning session today. It opened at 266,520 yuan/mt, with narrowed intraday fluctuations, and closed around 265,250 yuan/mt at midday, up slightly by 0.23% from the previous trading day. Open interest decreased slightly to 29,600 lots, with neutral to weak market trading activity. The battle between bulls and bears intensified near the 265,000 yuan/mt threshold.

[Ningbo Zinc: Downstream Players Hold Certain Inventory, Premium Continues to Decline] The transaction price of mainstream brand 0# zinc in the Ningbo market is around 22,875-23,030 yuan/mt. The premium for mainstream brands in Ningbo against the 2506 contract is 265 yuan/mt, and the premium against Shanghai spot cargo is 40 yuan/mt. Mainstream players in the Ningbo region are quoting prices against the 2506 contract...

[Tianjin Zinc: Premiums Decline, Traders Dominate Trading] In the Tianjin market, mainstream transactions for #0 zinc ingot were concluded at 22,870-23,110 yuan/mt, with Zijin transactions at 22,970-23,160 yuan/mt. Transactions for #1 zinc ingot were around 22,500-22,670 yuan/mt, while Huludao was quoted at 26,260 yuan/mt. The premium for ordinary #0 zinc against the 2506 contract was around 250-330 yuan/mt, and the premium for Zijin against the 2506 contract was 320-360 yuan/mt. The Tianjin market was quoted at parity with the Shanghai market.

On May 15, the SMM index price for battery-grade nickel sulphate was 27,753 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 27,760-28,230 yuan/mt, and the average price fell slightly compared to yesterday.

According to SMM research, the amount of maintenance at steel mills producing construction steel increased slightly this week, with molten iron production peaking. More blast furnace maintenance is expected at steel mills in the future, which will affect construction steel production. The maintenance impact on construction steel output is 1.1138 million tons, an increase of 28,700 tons from last week on a week-on-week basis.

As of now, the MHP coefficient (relative to the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index) ranges from 84% to 85%, and the FOB price of Indonesian MHP is $12,775 per mt (Ni contained).