Metals rose almost across the board, with LME zinc, LME aluminum, and SHFE copper up more than 1%, iron ore up nearly 2%, and SHFE gold down over 3% [SMM Midday Review].

SMM April 23 News: In the metal market, as of the midday close, domestic base metals mostly rose, with SHFE copper up 1.07%. SHFE tin edged down, while SHFE nickel gained 0.19%. SHFE aluminum rose 0.28%, SHFE lead fell 0.38%, and SHFE zinc increased 0.79%. Additionally, alumina rose 0.46%, lithium carbonate dropped 0.73%, silicon metal rose 0.45%, and polysilicon increased 0.67%. The ferrous metals series all rose, with iron ore up 1.89%, rebar up 0.55%, HRC up 0.78%, and stainless steel up 0.43%. In the coking coal and coke sector, coking coal rose 1.28%, and coke increased 1.33%. In overseas metals, as of 11:42, base metals all rose. LME tin gained 0.47%, LME nickel rose 0.24%, LME lead increased 0.39%, LME copper rose 0.43%, LME aluminum surged 1.09%, and LME zinc climbed 1.1%. In precious metals, as of 11:42, COMEX gold fell 2.07%, and COMEX silver dropped 0.7%. Domestically, SHFE gold declined 3.51%, and SHFE silver fell 0.23%. The Shanghai Gold Exchange issued a notice stating that from the close of clearing on Friday, April 25, 2025, the margin levels for Au(T+D), mAu(T+D), Au(T+N1), Au(T+N2), NYAuTN06, and NYAuTN12 contracts will be adjusted from 12% to 13%, and the daily price fluctuation limits will be adjusted from 11% to 12% starting from the next trading day. The margin level for Ag(T+D) contracts will be adjusted from 15% to 16%, and the daily price fluctuation limits will be adjusted from 14% to 15% starting from the next trading day. As of the midday close, the most-traded contract for European container shipping fell 1.22% to 1,485.8 points. As of 11:42 on April 23, some futures midday quotes: SMM Metal Spot Prices on April 23. Spot and fundamentals: Zinc: The mainstream brand 0# zinc transaction price in the Ningbo market was around 22,805-23,000 yuan/mt. The premium for conventional brands in Ningbo against the 2505 contract was 180 yuan/mt, on par with the Shanghai spot price. The mainstream quotes in Ningbo were against the 2505 contract... Click for details. Macro front: Domestically: SASAC: Vigorously Cultivate a Batch of Strategic Emerging Industries and Future Industries with Core Competitiveness. On April 23, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) announced that on April 22, the "Promoting Entrepreneurial Spirit and Accelerating the Construction of World-Class Enterprises" seminar (Phase 2), jointly organized by the Central Organization Department, the Central Financial Work Committee, and SASAC, opened at the China Executive Leadership Academy in Dalian. Zhang Yuzhuo, Party Secretary and Director of SASAC, stated that it is essential to remember the "national priorities" and deeply understand that strengthening, optimizing, and expanding state-owned capital and enterprises is an inevitable move to serve the modernization of China. Currently, central state-owned enterprises should accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, vigorously cultivate a batch of strategic emerging industries and future industries with core competitiveness, and better leverage the role of technological innovation, industrial control, and security support. (Cailian Press) Preview: The People's Bank of China will hold a press conference at 15:00 on April 23 to introduce the "Action Plan for Further Enhancing Cross-border Financial Service Facilitation in the Shanghai International Financial Center." The People's Bank of China conducted 108 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repo operations today, with the operation rate at 1.50%, unchanged from the previous rate. As 104.5 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repos matured today, a net injection of 3.5 billion yuan was achieved. On April 23, the central parity rate of the RMB against the US dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market was 7.2116 yuan per US dollar. In the US dollar market: As of 11:42, the US dollar index rose 0.34% to 99.32. US President Trump softened his stance, indicating no intention to dismiss Powell, and market risk appetite warmed. Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari said on Tuesday that it is still uncertain how to adjust short-term borrowing costs in response to President Trump's tariffs and their expected impact on inflation and the economy. Data-wise: Today, France's April SPGI Manufacturing PMI preliminary, Germany's April SPGI Manufacturing PMI preliminary, the Eurozone's April SPGI Manufacturing PMI preliminary, the UK's April SPGI Services PMI preliminary, the UK's April SPGI Manufacturing PMI preliminary, the Eurozone's February seasonally adjusted trade balance, the US March Building Permits MoM revised, the US April SPGI Manufacturing PMI preliminary, and the US March seasonally adjusted new home sales annualized total will be released. Additionally, it is worth noting that 2026 FOMC voter and Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari will speak; Fed Governor Kugler will speak on "Monetary Policy Transmission"; 2025 FOMC voter and St. Louis Fed President Musalem and Fed Governor Waller will deliver opening remarks at an event; the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting will be held until April 24. In the crude oil market: As of 11:42, crude oil futures all rose, with US oil up 0.6% and Brent oil up 0.5%. US crude oil inventories fell, supporting oil prices. Data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed that US crude oil, gasoline, and distillate inventories all fell last week. In the week ending April 18, US crude oil inventories decreased by 4.6 million barrels, gasoline inventories fell by 2.2 million barrels, and distillate inventories dropped by 1.6 million barrels. Previously, analysts surveyed had expected US crude oil inventories to decrease by 800,000 barrels, gasoline inventories to fall by 1.4 million barrels, and distillate inventories to remain unchanged. (Webstock Inc.) Spot market overview: Decoding Macroeconomics: Forecasting Copper Price Trends and Trading Strategies, Exploring the Green Transformation Path of the Copper Industry under the New Energy Wave. Ningbo Zinc: Some downstream users began stockpiling, premiums remained high [SMM Midday Review]. SMM Hangzhou Building Materials Inventory: Hangzhou inventory fell 6.85% MoM. Other metal spot midday reviews will be updated later, please refresh to view~