China’s copper cathode output continued to rise in May after some of the smelters recovered from maintenance.

China’s output of nickel sulphate extended its decline in May, as weak demand, existing inventories and the ongoing price war forced some producers to trim or suspend production.

China’s production of nickel sulphate dropped in April, as higher raw material costs bolstered by a nickel price rally and weak demand forced some producers to suspend production to clear inventories. The SMM survey showed that 44,500 mt of nickel sulphate, including 39,100 mt of battery-grade materials and 5,500 mt of electroplating-grade materials, was produced in China last month, down 6.88% from a month earlier and 20.54% from a year earlier.

China’s copper cathode output in March increased even as secondary copper production continued to contract due to the unfavourable price spread between copper cathode and copper scrap, in addition to copper scrap supply issues. The global outbreak of COVID-19 took a toll on copper scrap supply from Malaysia.

Chinese silicon plants may face difficulties to resume production as scheduled in the wet season starting from June as the global widespread COVID-19 has disrupted the supply chain and led to a shortage of raw material wood charcoal. SMM learned that most silicon plants have conducted maintenance and tried to secure feedstock for the preparation of resumption.

Prices of battery-grade nickel sulphate, a raw material used to produce electric vehicle batteries, halted their decline that lasted for much of March, and edged higher as of March 30, as concerns about feedstock supply disruption intensified after Papua New Guinea banned vessels at ports to stop the spread of the COVID-19.

Social inventories of stainless steel in China showed signed of declines at end-March, after the stocks hit the highest level on record last month. However, downstream demand has yet to recover sufficiently to support a sustained slide in the inventories, which may threaten lingering inventory pressure in April that will keep stainless steel prices under pressure. 

Trades in the spot copper market in Shanghai were active with spot premiums rising on the morning of March 31 as upbeat data on China’s manufacturing activities improved market sentiment and led to...

Transactions of spot copper were active in Shanghai on the morning of Friday March 27 as traders stepped up purchases on reduced futures prices. This prompted spot cargo holders to lift premiums.

Prices of rebar may continue to struggle against the headwind of slower-than-expected recovery of downstream demand as manpower issues constrain the construction progress even as the resumption rate of work for building and infrastructure projects has climbed to 86.05% as of March 25, showed an SMM survey.