The US dollar weakened, and base metals rose across the board. LME zinc and COMEX gold surged by over 2%, with LME tin and LME nickel leading the gains. [Overnight Market]

SMM April 25 News:

In the metal market:

Overnight, base metals in the domestic market all rose, with SHFE tin up 1.3%. SHFE copper increased by 0.14%. SHFE nickel rose by 0.19%. SHFE lead gained 0.77%. SHFE aluminum climbed 0.25%, and SHFE zinc surged 1.44%. Additionally, alumina increased by 0.21%.

Overnight, most ferrous metals fell, with iron ore down 1.11%, stainless steel up 0.2%, rebar down 0.26%, and HRC down 0.19%. In the coking coal and coke sector, coking coal rose by 0.68%, while coke slightly declined.

Overnight, LME base metals all rose, with LME copper up 0.77%. LME zinc surged 2.48%, LME tin increased by 1.87%, LME lead rose by 0.62%, and LME aluminum climbed 1.13%. LME nickel gained 1.39%.

In the precious metals sector: Overnight, COMEX gold rose 2.04%, and COMEX silver slightly increased by 0.01%. Overnight, SHFE gold rose 1.02%, and SHFE silver increased by 0.33%.

As of 8:06 AM on April 25, the overnight closing market

》Click to view the SMM futures data dashboard

On the macro front:

Domestically:

[Central Bank: 600 billion yuan MLF operation to be conducted on April 25] The central bank announced that on Friday, April 25, 2025, the People's Bank of China will conduct a 600 billion yuan MLF operation through fixed quantity, interest rate bidding, and multiple price winning methods, with a term of 1 year. It is reported that 100 billion yuan of MLF will mature this month. After the 600 billion yuan MLF operation on April 25, a net injection of 500 billion yuan will be achieved. In March, the central bank over-subscribed MLF, achieving a net injection of 63 billion yuan, marking the first net injection since July 2024, demonstrating a moderately loose monetary policy stance. (Cailian Press)

[MIIT seeks public opinion on the "Opinions on Strengthening the Implementation of Mandatory National Standards for Electric Bicycles and Promoting the Orderly Supply of New Products (Draft for Comment)"] The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is seeking public opinion on the "Opinions on Strengthening the Implementation of Mandatory National Standards for Electric Bicycles and Promoting the Orderly Supply of New Products (Draft for Comment)". At the end of 2024, the revised mandatory national standard "Technical Specifications for Safety of Electric Bicycles" (GB 17761—2024, hereinafter referred to as the "Technical Specifications") was officially issued. The "Technical Specifications" set two implementation times: the production phase will be implemented on September 1, 2025, and the sales phase will be implemented on December 1, 2025. Before the standard is implemented, all links in the industry chain, including R&D design, parts manufacturing, vehicle production, inspection and testing, mandatory certification, sales logistics, and regulatory enforcement, need to adjust and adapt according to the requirements of the "Technical Specifications" to ensure that qualified electric bicycle products that meet the "Technical Specifications" and have obtained CCC certificates can be supplied in large quantities after the production phase is officially implemented, meeting consumer demand while reducing safety hazards around the people; at the same time, electric bicycles produced according to the old version of the standard can be digested before the sales phase is officially implemented, avoiding resource waste and loss. To this end, the Consumer Goods Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has drafted the "Opinions on Strengthening the Implementation of Mandatory National Standards for Electric Bicycles and Promoting the Orderly Supply of New Products (Draft for Comment)", which is planned to be jointly issued with relevant departments to provide direction for accelerating the formation of an electric bicycle industry chain and regulatory model that meets the requirements of the new standard.

On the US dollar front:

Overnight, the US dollar index fell 0.61% to 99.29. On Thursday, Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester called for patience in monetary policy given high uncertainty, but she did not rule out the possibility of an interest rate cut in June, depending on economic data. The number of initial jobless claims in the US rose slightly last week, indicating that the labor market remains robust. Data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that the seasonally adjusted number of initial jobless claims increased by 6,000 to 222,000 in the week ending April 19, in line with economists' expectations. A report released by the US Census Bureau showed that non-defense capital goods orders (excluding aircraft) increased slightly by 0.1% in March, after a 0.3% decline in February. This core capital goods order is a closely watched indicator of business spending plans. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Thursday that US existing home sales fell more than expected in March, affected by rising borrowing costs.

Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius said that the US dollar will fall further due to US tariff uncertainty and recession concerns, as tariffs push up inflation, and a further decline in the US dollar will exacerbate price pressures.

In other currencies:

Sources revealed that in the context of an increasingly turbulent global environment, the European Central Bank (ECB) will consider adjusting its monetary policy strategy to respond more flexibly to price shocks. Members of the ECB Governing Council will hold an in-depth discussion for the first time on the ongoing strategic review at an informal meeting in Porto, Portugal, from May 6 to 7, and discuss the rationale for this shift in monetary policy strategy. The meeting will also review reports prepared by two working groups established for this assessment and the Monetary Policy Committee composed of senior economists from the ECB and the central banks of 20 eurozone countries. ECB chief economist Philip Lane said that trade tensions are unlikely to push the eurozone into recession. He pointed out that although US President Trump's tariff measures may curb economic growth, the eurozone, composed of 20 member states, has other trading partners and will not automatically fall into an economic downturn. He said in an interview on Thursday, "There is a downward revision, but it is important to point out that it is only a slight downward revision, and the economy is still growing." (Huitong Finance)

On the macro front:

Today, the UK's seasonally adjusted retail sales month-on-month rate for March, the UK's seasonally adjusted core retail sales month-on-month rate for March, Canada's retail sales month-on-month rate for February, Canada's core retail sales month-on-month rate for February, and the final value of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for April in the US will be released. Additionally, it is worth noting that Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan will deliver a speech; global financial leaders will attend the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, until April 26.

In the crude oil market:

Overnight, both oil futures rose, with US oil up 0.8% and Brent oil up 0.64%. The market weighed the weakening US dollar, the possibility of OPEC increasing production, mixed economic news, US tariffs, and other supply and demand-related news.

The market is also paying attention to Iran's supply prospects. Iran is the third-largest oil producer in OPEC, after Saudi Arabia and Iraq. (Webstock Inc.)