Zinc Inventories in China Major Markets Fall 10th Straight Week

Mitsubishi Materials has released its refined copper production plan for October 2026-March 2027, targeting 23,714 tonnes per month, or about 142,284 tonnes for the six-month period. This represents an 18% year-on-year decline and is also well below the 175,416 tonnes planned for April-September. The company attributed the reduction to scheduled maintenance shutdowns at its Naoshima Smelter & Refinery and Onahama Smelting & Refinery. The new plan implies roughly 31,400 tonnes less refined copper production than the same period a year earlier. Japanese smelter plans are diverging: Furukawa expects output to fall 3% to about 21,500 tonnes, while DOWA targets 4,321 tonnes, around 12% higher year on year. With concentrate availability remaining tight globally, operating rates and maintenance durations at Japanese smelters will be important to monitor through the new October-March production cycle.

Elmet Technologies has been awarded an approximately $36 million contract by the US Defense Logistics Agency to supply the National Defense Stockpile with titanium-zirconium-molybdenum alloy billets, bars and ingots, as well as specialised molybdenum and tungsten wire. The materials are intended for jet-engine components and other high-temperature aerospace applications. Elmet did not disclose delivery volumes, contract duration or the value split between molybdenum and tungsten products. SMM analysis: The award confirms US defence-sector procurement demand for high-performance molybdenum materials, but cannot yet be translated into additional molybdenum consumption due to the absence of physical volumes.

Novametal USA released its October 2026 raw-material surcharges for stainless steel cold-drawn wire. The molybdenum average increased 1.0% from US$33.2230/lb to US$33.5558/lb, equivalent to approximately US$73,244/t and US$73,978/t. However, nickel and chromium averages declined 1.9% and 1.2%, respectively. Consequently, the 316 alloy surcharge fell from US$1.94/lb to US$1.92/lb, while 316L declined from US$1.98/lb to US$1.97/lb. After the energy surcharge rose from US$0.10/lb to US$0.12/lb, the total 316 surcharge remained unchanged at US$2.04/lb and 316L edged up to US$2.09/lb. SMM analysis: weaker nickel and chromium partly offset higher molybdenum costs, limiting downstream price transmission.