The US dollar fell for three consecutive days, with the overseas market outperforming the domestic market. LME tin and LME copper led the gains, while NY gold surged above $3,500. [SMM Midday Review]

SMM April 22 News: In the metal market, as of the midday close, base metals in the domestic market mostly fell, with SHFE copper up 0.61%. SHFE tin fell 0.78%, SHFE nickel rose 0.34%. SHFE aluminum fell 0.4%, SHFE lead rose 0.3%, SHFE zinc rose 0.36%. Additionally, alumina fell 0.92%. Lithium carbonate fell 1.27%, silicon metal rose 0.34%, polysilicon edged up. The ferrous metals series mostly fell, with iron ore up 0.56%, rebar fell 0.13%, HRC fell 0.22%, stainless steel fell 0.39%. In the coking coal and coke sector, coking coal fell 1.94%, coke fell 1.67. In overseas metals, as of 11:43, base metals in the overseas market all rose. LME tin rose 1.43%. LME nickel rose 0.47%. LME lead rose 0.75%, LME copper rose 1.25%, LME aluminum rose 0.82%, LME zinc rose 0.85%. In precious metals, as of 11:52, COMEX gold rose 2.05%, hitting a record high of $3,504.2/oz during the session. As of 11:43, COMEX silver rose 0.53%; domestically, SHFE gold rose 4.39%, hitting a record high of 834.12 yuan/gram during the session; SHFE silver edged down 0.01%. KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer said: "Investors have been shying away from US assets due to tariff concerns and tensions between Trump and Powell, keeping gold in a prime position to benefit from the dollar's woes. Given the rapid rise so far this month, prices could still pull back. But given that high economic uncertainty remains the dominant theme in the market, it is reasonable to believe that buyers will be eager to buy gold once prices pull back." (Webstock Inc.) As of the midday close, the most-traded contract for European container shipping fell 2.16% to 1,488.5 points. As of 11:43 on April 22, some futures midday quotes: SMM Metal Spot Prices on April 22 Spot and fundamentals Copper: Copper prices returned to 77,000 yuan/mt, the spot market did not show sluggishness due to the rush for exports and stockpiling for the May Day holiday, and spot quotes are expected to remain firm during the SMM meeting tomorrow... Click for details Macro front Domestically: [PBOC injects net 56 billion yuan in open market operations] The PBOC conducted 220.5 billion yuan in 7-day reverse repo operations today, with the operation rate at 1.50%, unchanged from before. As 164.5 billion yuan in 7-day reverse repos matured today, a net injection of 56 billion yuan was achieved. [Cui Dongshu: China's auto exports reached 1.54 million units from January to March 2025, up 16% YoY] Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the CPCA, posted on his personal official account that China's auto exports reached 1.54 million units from January to March 2025, up 16% YoY from January to March 2024. In March, China's auto exports reached 570,000 units, up 16% YoY, with both YoY and MoM trends generally strong; the main drivers this year remain the improvement in the competitiveness of Chinese products and the slight growth in the markets of global south countries. [Hangzhou: Employees who purchase affordable housing can withdraw housing provident funds to pay for down payments and other home purchase costs] Recently, the Hangzhou Housing Provident Fund Management Committee issued a notice on optimizing and improving several policies on housing provident fund withdrawals. It mentioned strong support for employees to purchase affordable housing. Employees who purchase affordable housing can withdraw housing provident funds to pay for down payments and other home purchase costs, with the cumulative withdrawal not exceeding the home purchase cost; for those using housing provident fund loans to purchase homes, the cumulative withdrawal and loan amount shall not exceed the total price of the home purchased. The housing provident fund rental withdrawal efforts will be increased. Employees renting public rental housing and affordable rental housing can withdraw housing provident funds based on actual rent expenses. Housing provident fund management centers are encouraged to cooperate with housing rental agencies to provide employees with stable rental sources and more preferential conveniences, and withdrawals can be made based on actual rent expenses according to housing rental contract information. If actual rent expenses exceed the rental withdrawal limit standard by 50%, withdrawals can be made at the rental withdrawal limit standard increased by 50%. The conditions for employees to withdraw housing provident funds upon resignation will be relaxed. Employees who have their personal housing provident fund accounts sealed for half a year after termination or termination of labor relations with their units and do not continue to pay in other places can withdraw the balance of their personal housing provident fund accounts. On April 22, the central parity rate of the RMB in the interbank foreign exchange market was 7.2074 yuan per US dollar. In the US dollar: As of 11:43, the US dollar index continued its decline from the previous two trading days, falling another 0.27% to 98.09. The US dollar hovered near its lowest level in three years as confidence in the US economy waned. Trump said on Monday that the US economy could slow unless interest rates are cut immediately, and again criticized Fed Chairman Powell. Powell said that interest rates should not be cut until the situation becomes clearer that Trump's tariff plan will not lead to a sustained surge in inflation. Asian stocks struggled to hold their ground on Tuesday after a wild flight from US assets hit US stocks and the dollar, while concerns about the Fed's independence put new pressure on US Treasuries. The market is focusing on speeches by several Fed officials later this week, hoping to gain insights into future monetary policy amid concerns about the Fed's independence. In data: The preliminary value of the eurozone's April consumer confidence index will be released today. Additionally, it is worth noting that Fed Vice Chairman Jefferson will speak at the Economic Liquidity Summit; the IMF will release the "World Economic Outlook" report; ECB President Lagarde will be interviewed by CNBC. In crude oil: As of 11:43, crude oil futures all rose, with US oil up 0.56%, Brent oil up 0.44%. The market used the previous day's decline to cover short positions, although concerns that tariffs and US monetary policy could curb fuel demand remain, regional instability, economic and seasonal factors could limit oil price gains. Hiroyuki Kikukawa, Chief Strategist at Nissan Securities Investment under Nissan Securities, said: "There was some short covering after Monday's sharp decline. However, concerns that tariffs could lead to a recession persist. With tariff-related uncertainties continuing, US crude oil may temporarily trade in the $55 to $65 range." Spot market overview: [Live broadcast of the Copper Industry Conference] New power systems, copper wire rod, copper billet outlook, latest technology sharing, copper industry production and financing innovation discussion [SHFE copper spot] SHFE copper rose, spot tightened, SHFE copper suppliers stood firm on quotes to sell [SMM South China copper spot] Copper prices and premiums both rose, downstream purchasing intention decreased compared to yesterday [SMM analysis] March copper plate/sheet and strip exports were generally optimistic, exports to the US halved YoY Other metal spot midday reviews will be updated later, please refresh to view~