The US dollar fell to a three-year low, with most metals in the domestic market rising. SHFE tin surged by over 1%, and gold prices hit a new historical high! [SMM Midday Review]

SMM April 21 News: In the metal market, as of the midday close, domestic base metals all rose, with SHFE copper up 0.64%. SHFE tin rose 1.16%, SHFE nickel rose 0.41%. SHFE aluminum rose 0.71%, SHFE lead rose 0.74%, SHFE zinc rose 0.98%. In addition, alumina fell 0.11%. Lithium carbonate fell 1.86%, silicon metal fell 0.91%, polysilicon fell 0.08%. Ferrous metals mostly rose, with iron ore up 1.06%, rebar up 0.74%, HRC up 0.66%, stainless steel flat at 12,800 yuan/mt. For coking coal and coke, coking coal rose 1.06%, coke rose 0.74%. In overseas metal markets, LME base metals were closed for one day due to Easter. In the precious metals sector, as of 11:45, COMEX gold rose 2.02%, hitting a record high of $3,397.6/oz during the session; COMEX silver rose 0.99%. Domestically, SHFE gold rose 2.03%, hitting a record high of 803 yuan/g during the session; SHFE silver rose 1.22%. As of the midday close, the most-traded contract for European container shipping fell 3.67% to 1,498 points. As of 11:45 on April 21, some futures midday quotes: SMM metal spot prices on April 21. Spot and fundamentals: Copper: Today, spot #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was quoted at a premium of 160-210 yuan/mt against the front-month contract, with an average premium of 185 yuan/mt, up 40 yuan/mt from the previous day; SX-EW copper was quoted at a premium of 100-120 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 110 yuan/mt, up 40 yuan/mt from the previous day. The average price of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was 76,530 yuan/mt, up 185 yuan/mt from the previous day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 76,455 yuan/mt, up 185 yuan/mt from the previous day. Spot market: Inventory in Guangdong has declined for 13 consecutive days, with arrivals still low and consumption good, leading to a continuous decline in spot inventory and accelerated destocking... Click for details. Macro front: Domestic: The April LPR quotes were released, with both the 5-year and 1-year rates unchanged. The People's Bank of China authorized the National Interbank Funding Center to announce that the 5-year LPR is 3.6%, unchanged from the previous month. The 1-year LPR is 3.1%, unchanged from the previous month. Click for details. The new national standard for e-bikes will take effect on September 1, with the first batch of six testing institutions announced. The State Administration for Market Regulation recently announced the list of specific institutions that have obtained the testing capability qualification for the mandatory national standard "Safety Technical Specification for Electric Bicycles". Six institutions have obtained the new national standard testing capability qualification: Wuxi Institute of Inspection and Testing Certification, CCIC Western Testing Co., Ltd., VIC Testing Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute, Guangdong Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute, and China Electronics Standardization Institute. The new national standard, which will take effect on September 1, has significant improvements and enhancements in vehicle quality, motor power limits, fire resistance, plastic content, and anti-tampering, which will further improve the intrinsic safety level of products and provide the public with safer and more practical travel tools. Producers need to adjust product design and production processes, complete testing and certification during the transition period according to the new national standard requirements. The Ministry of Commerce: Consumers have cumulatively purchased over 100 million home appliances under the trade-in policy. The head of the Department of Circulation Development of the Ministry of Commerce discussed the development of China's wholesale and retail industry from January to March 2025. The trade-in policy has been expanded and strengthened, with domestic "trendy" products widely favored, and the home appliance trade-in has achieved remarkable results. Since the home appliance trade-in policy was strengthened in August 2024, consumers have cumulatively purchased over 100 million home appliances under the trade-in policy, including over 40 million in 2025. The central bank conducted a net injection of 133 billion yuan in open market operations. The central bank conducted 176 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repo operations today, with the operation rate at 1.50%, unchanged from the previous level. As 43 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repos matured today, a net injection of 133 billion yuan was achieved. The central parity rate of the RMB against the US dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market on April 21 was 7.2055 yuan per US dollar. As of 11:45, the US dollar index fell 0.97% to 98.28. The US dollar fell to a three-year low, as concerns about trade tensions between the US and its major trading partners sparked fears of an economic recession. Chicago Fed President Goolsbee said on Sunday that President Trump's tariffs are causing US business owners to hoard inventory. The Fed official said that businesses and consumers "preemptively purchasing" big-ticket items at pre-tariff prices could lead to an "artificially high" level of economic activity. Goolsbee said that this temporary growth could be followed by a corresponding decline in the summer. Nomura lowered its year-end forecast for the USD/JPY to 137.5; Nomura strategists Yujiro Goto and Jin Moteki wrote in a report that they lowered their year-end forecast for the USD/JPY from 140 to 137.50, affected by President Trump's tariff hikes and increased concerns about US stagflation and the credibility of US assets. Data to watch today: The State Council Information Office held a press conference on the "Work Plan for Accelerating the Comprehensive Pilot Program for Expanding the Opening of the Service Sector"; 2025 FOMC voter and Chicago Fed President Goolsbee was interviewed by CNBC. On April 21, the Australian Securities Exchange, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Paris Stock Exchange, Milan Stock Exchange, Madrid Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, London Metal Exchange (LME), and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing were closed for one day due to Easter. As of 11:45, crude oil futures fell, with WTI down 1.58% and Brent down 1.52%. Oil prices fell as supply prospects eased, reducing concerns about reduced supply from Middle Eastern oil producers. Interfax reported that the Russian Ministry of Economy has lowered its 2025 Brent crude oil price forecast by nearly 17% compared to the September forecast last year. According to Interfax, the Ministry of Oil, in the baseline scenario of its 2025 economic forecast, assumed an average Brent crude oil price of $68/bbl, down from the $81.7/bbl forecast in September last year. Spot market overview: Inventory accelerated decline, suppliers actively stood firm on quotes for shipments, overall trading was moderate [SMM South China Copper Spot]. Tianjin zinc: Downstream purchasing enthusiasm was not high, premiums slightly declined [SMM Midday Review]. Other metal spot midday reviews will be updated later, please refresh to view~