[monthly carding of SMM Thread] the hardest time is over, and steel prices may rise in April

Ganfeng Lithium announced that the Company and its partner Mineral Resources Limited have agreed to upgrade the ore treatment capacity of the Mt Marion lithium spodumene project of the joint venture company RIM.

The total inventory of rebar across social warehouses and steel makers in China stood at 12.04 million mt as of March 31, down 43,400 mt or 0.4% on the week, and down 3.55 million mt or 22.8% from the same period last year.

The total inventory of construction steel across social warehouses and steel makers in China stood at 12.08 million mt as of March 24, up 43,000 mt or 0.4% on the week, and down 3.51 million mt or 22.5% from the same period last lunar year.

This is a roundup of China's metals weekly inventory as of March 18.

China's refined zinc output stood at 458,400 mt in February, down 59,200 mt or 11.43% MoM and 2.72% YoY.

China produced 2.95 million mt of aluminium in February (28 days), down 2.35% on the year. The daily output averaged 105,000 mt, up 1,900 mt/day on the month.

Domestic copper cathode output in February stood at 835,700 mt, up 2.1% month-on-month (MoM) and 1.7% year-on-year (YoY).

China’s output of praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd) oxide in February 2022 stood at 6,094 mt, down 2.5% from a year earlier with ion-absorbed iron separation companies in Sichuang, Jiangus, Guangdong and Guangxi contributing most of the increment, while those in Jiangxi saw output cuts.

Steel prices ushered in a “good start” in the first week post the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday amid optimistic sentiment.

On the supply side, the recent Winter Olympics-oriented production restrictions have been issued one after another.