[Daily Review of ADC12 Prices: Aluminum Prices Rise for Four Consecutive Days, Secondary Aluminum Prices Lack Strength in Increasing] Today, the SMM A00 aluminum price increased by another 140 yuan/mt from the previous trading day to 20,350 yuan/mt, while the domestic SMM ADC12 price remained in the range of 20,300-20,500 yuan/mt.

[SMM Daily Review: Buyer's Sentiment in High-grade NPI Market Remains, Short-term Transaction Prices Under Pressure] On May 15, the average price of SMM 8-12% high-grade NPI was 941.5 yuan/mtu (ex-factory, tax included), unchanged from the previous working day...

[SMM Silicone Weekly Review: Support Strengthens at Lows in Silicone Market, Partial Relief in Trade War Tariffs Benefits Some End-use Products] This week, domestic DMC was quoted at 11,300-11,600 yuan/mt, with the average price slightly lower WoW, and the trading range narrowed. This week, the online mall of a monomer enterprise in Shandong opened DMC at 11,300 yuan/mt, a decrease of 200 yuan/mt WoW. The leading enterprise quoted DMC at 14,800 yuan/mt, remaining unchanged for the time being. This week, other domestic monomer enterprises quoted DMC at 11,500-11,600 yuan/mt. This week, the trading range of the domestic DMC market narrowed somewhat, with monomer enterprises' quotes remaining basically stable. Although some downstream enterprises entered the market for procurement, and demand was boosted by the partial cancellation of trade war tariffs, the current inventory levels of monomer enterprises remained relatively high. Enterprises still prioritize destocking as their primary goal, so prices are expected to fluctuate at lows in the near term.

[SMM spot copper] The futures market declined compared to yesterday, and the price spread between futures contracts did not widen significantly. Yesterday, SHFE copper futures warrants increased by over 20,000 mt to more than 50,000 mt. It is expected that spot premiums will decline tomorrow compared to today's level.

On May 15, the total rebar inventory for the week was 5.8283 million mt, a decrease of 315,100 mt WoW, down 5.13% WoW, and a decrease of 20.34% YoY based on the lunar calendar. The total wire rod inventory was 1.2535 million mt, an increase of 28,800 mt WoW, up 2.35% WoW, and a decrease of 23.41% YoY based on the lunar calendar.

[SMM Social Inventory of Lead Ingots: Suppliers Transfer Stocks to Delivery Warehouse, Social Inventory of Lead Ingots Increases by Nearly 10,000 mt] Recently, the SHFE lead 2505 contract entered the delivery phase, and suppliers have been transferring their stocks to delivery warehouses one after another, leading to a simultaneous increase in the social inventory of lead ingots in warehouses. In May, the lead-acid battery market is in the traditional off-season, with downstream enterprises generally experiencing production cuts and having limited demand for lead ingots...

According to a report by Reuters cited in MiningWeekly, a study released by the Cobalt Institute on Wednesday forecasts that cobalt demand will grow faster than supply, easing the cobalt surplus situation in 2024 and shifting to a deficit in the early 2030s. The report was compiled by Benchmark Minerals Intelligence. In the short term, the future of the cobalt market will depend on developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the world's largest cobalt producer. At the end of February, the country decided to implement a four-month temporary export ban. Cobalt is a crucial material for the production of lithium batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs).