Qinghai Holds the Lion’s Share in Global Lithium Reserves

[SMM Analysis] Peak Season Expectations Completely Fall Through as End-Use Demand Destocking Loses Steam; Stainless Steel Inventory Reverses Decline and Builds Up Again SMM, October 1: This week, stainless steel social inventory ended its previous trend of continuous destocking, with the overall inventory reversing from decline to buildup. The inventory center rose again, and the peak season destocking pace completely failed. Total inventory in the two core markets of Wuxi and Foshan moved upward, and industry inventory pressure became prominent once again. This week, expectations for a September-October peak season recovery in the stainless steel market were completely disproven. Persistent weakness in end-use demand and increased arrivals combined to push inventory from decline to growth. With the National Day holiday approaching, downstream end-user pre-holiday stockpiling largely wound down, and there was no new concentrated restocking demand in the market. End-users maintained only sporadic just-in-time procurement, and overall actual transaction volumes remained weak, sharply reducing destocking efficiency. Although SS futures showed firmness this week and spot prices remained broadly stable, with futures sentiment providing some support to the market, this could not offset the absence of end-use demand. Additionally, arrivals increased this week, with supply-side cargo releases proceeding steadily. Under the mismatch of weak demand and increased arrivals, the market returned to an inventory buildup trajectory. Overall, the complete failure of traditional peak season demand, subdued pre-holiday end-user transactions, and increased arrivals during the week were the core reasons for stainless steel inventory reversing from decline to buildup this week. Firm futures and spot prices could not reverse the inventory accumulation pressure. At this stage, the fundamentals for a stainless steel peak season recovery have completely failed, end-use demand recovery has fallen far short of expectations, and market trading sentiment remains persistently weak. In the short term, weak demand remains the core factor driving inventory trends, and end-user operations are halted during the long holiday...

[SMM Magnesium Weekly Review: Magnesium Prices Consolidate to Seek Bottom; Producers Sell at Low Prices to Promote Shipments, Downstream Purchases Cautiously on Rigid Demand] This week, the magnesium market maintained a weak supply-demand pattern. Supply side, magnesium ingot smelters showed active willingness to sell, with some offering low-price promotions to ease inventory pressure, though overall sentiment to hold prices firm persisted. Magnesium alloy enterprises faced high inventory levels, with several planning to initiate large-scale production cuts next month. Demand side, foreign trade deliveries largely concluded, while domestic trade maintained only rigid restocking. Downstream acceptance of current prices remained low, with a clear rush to buy amid continuous price rise and hold back amid price downturn mentality. Weakness in end-user automotive demand further dragged down magnesium alloy consumption. Overall, the market showed a strong supply and weak demand pattern, consolidating to seek bottom.

[SMM Weekly Review: Pre-holiday PV Prices Hold Steady Across Multiple Segments Amid Wait-and-See Sentiment, Expectations for October Polysilicon Production Cuts Intensify] This week, the polysilicon price index stood at 41.08 yuan/kg, with N-type recharging polysilicon quoted at 39.6-42.5 yuan/kg and granular polysilicon at 39-40 yuan/kg. Market quotes edged up this week, mainly driven by large-order transactions from a few top-tier players in the latter half of the week. Trading activity remained subdued, with both upstream and downstream participants maintaining a wait-and-see sentiment. Expectations for polysilicon production cuts in October are significant, with production expected to drop nearly 20% MoM, primarily due to production-cut meetings and the dry season. The reductions are mainly concentrated in the Southeast, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang.