[Domestic Inventory Declined Slightly, SHFE Zinc Expected to Remain in the Doldrums] The most-traded SHFE zinc 2510 contract opened at 22,080 yuan/mt. After opening, it immediately fell to a low of 21,950 yuan/mt. Subsequently, a tug-of-war between longs and shorts kept the price center fluctuating rangebound around 22,050 yuan/mt. It finally closed down at 22,035 yuan/mt, falling 245 yuan/mt, a decrease of 1.10%. Trading volume increased to 120,000 lots, while open interest decreased by 6,337 lots to 71,757 lots.....

This week, market conditions showed synchronized growth in lithium carbonate and cathode material prices, with cost pass-through driving a steady increase in new battery cell prices. Supply side, speculation suggests battery cell manufacturers prioritized stabilizing prices for A-grade batteries for well-known mobile phones, further reducing sales of second-life B-grade cells, directly tightening supply of popular second-life battery cells. Demand side, overall second-life battery market demand remained stable, with downstream purchasing enterprises maintaining steady procurement needs. Supply-demand dynamics slightly pushed up prices of popular second-life battery cells, while conventional second-life cell prices were less affected by these adjustments.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily: US Fed Interest Rate Cut Realized, Bullish Factors Exhausted, SS Falls; Inventory Continues to Pull Back, Stainless Steel Spot Prices Temporarily Hold Steady] SMM, September 18: SS futures continued to trade in the doldrums. The US Fed interest rate cut was fully in line with previous market expectations, and with bullish factors exhausted, futures generally fell after the daytime session opened, with SS futures following the downtrend and falling below 12,900 yuan/mt in the afternoon. In the spot market, driven by the weakness in SS futures, downstream players maintained a cautious wait-and-see attitude. However, stainless steel traders generally have high holding costs, and there are good expectations for pre-holiday stockpiling demand before the National Day holiday next week, so spot prices held steady during the day. Futures side, the most-traded contract 2511 fell. At 10:30 am, SS2510 was quoted at 12,955 yuan/mt, up 45 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Wuxi region 304/2B spot premiums/discounts were in the range of 315-615 yuan/mt. In the spot market, Wuxi cold-rolled 201/2B coil averaged 8,150 yuan/mt; cold-rolled mill edge 304/2B coil averaged 13,250 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 13,250 yuan/mt in Foshan; cold-rolled 316L/2B coil was 25,750 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 25,750 yuan/mt in Foshan; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil was quoted at 25,150 yuan/mt in both regions; cold-rolled 430/2B coil was 7,600 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan. Although the market has entered the traditional peak consumption season of "September-October peak season," and the US Fed interest rate cut has been implemented as scheduled, providing room for domestic moderately accommodative monetary policies, the market...

[SMM Chrome Daily Review: Ferrochrome Market Remained Strong and Stable, Chrome Ore Prices Edged Up] September 18, 2025: The ex-factory price of high-carbon ferrochrome in Inner Mongolia was 8,450-8,550 yuan/mt (50% metal content) today, flat MoM from the previous trading day...

This week, prices of nickel, cobalt, lithium, and other salt products continued to rise. With the increase in salt product prices, the nickel, cobalt, and lithium payable indicators for ternary and LCO black mass also rose steadily. The prices per % lithium for LFP black mass also began to increase this week. Taking LFP pole piece black mass as an example, the current price range is 2,650–2,800 yuan/mtu, up 100 yuan/mtu WoW. For ternary black mass, the current nickel and cobalt payable indicator stands at 73.5–75%, flat WoW, while the lithium payable indicator remains at 68–71%, also largely unchanged from the previous week. On the LFP hydrometallurgy side, most enterprises adopted a wait-and-see approach at the beginning of the week, with many LFP battery hydrometallurgy recycling plants maintaining toll processing. However, as lithium carbonate prices rose this week, some upstream enterprises followed suit with price increases. Currently, the profit margin for externally purchased LFP black mass used in lithium chemicals production has shifted from hovering around the breakeven point at the end of August to approximately -5% to -8%. As a result, most lithium chemical recycling enterprises that resumed production in mid-August have adopted a cautious stance toward purchasing raw materials such as black mass. Market sentiment was mediocre compared to the previous week. With cobalt sulphate prices rising steadily from last month to mid-this month, the cobalt and lithium payable indicators for LCO black mass increased to some extent this week. However, due to high upstream quotations and ongoing overseas policy uncertainties, downstream transactions remained cautious.