Most metals rise, with lithium carbonate and iron ore up nearly 2%; alumina, SHFE zinc, and stainless steel lead gains [SMM Midday Review]

SMM May 14 News:

Metal Market:

As of the midday close, nearly all domestic base metals rose, with SHFE zinc up 1.14%, SHFE aluminum up 0.98%. SHFE lead fell 0.12%, SHFE copper rose 0.81%, and SHFE tin increased 0.57%. SHFE nickel gained 0.67%.

In addition, alumina rose 1.37%. Lithium carbonate increased 1.86%, while silicon metal fell 1.09%, and polysilicon dropped 1.9%.

The ferrous metals series all rose, with iron ore up 1.88% and stainless steel up 1.16%. Both rebar and HRC rose 0.84%. For coking coal and coke: coking coal rose 1.26%, and coke increased 1.1%.

In overseas metal markets, as of 11:38, LME base metals showed mixed performance. LME aluminum rose 0.82%. LME tin fell 0.23%, LME lead dropped 0.4%, LME copper decreased 0.14%, and both LME zinc and LME nickel rose less than 0.5%.

In precious metals, as of 11:38, COMEX gold fell 0.42%, and COMEX silver dropped 0.94%. Domestically, SHFE gold slightly declined, while SHFE silver slightly rose.

As of the midday close, the most-traded contract for the European container shipping index rose 10.61%, closing at 1,645.9 points.

As of 11:38 on May 14, midday futures market movements for some contracts:

》SMM Metal Spot Prices on May 14

Spot and Fundamentals

Copper: Today, spot #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was quoted at a discount of 80 yuan/mt to a premium of 50 yuan/mt against the front-month contract, with an average discount of 15 yuan/mt, down 60 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. SX-EW copper was quoted at a discount of 140 yuan/mt to a discount of 120 yuan/mt, with an average discount of 130 yuan/mt, down 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was 78,955 yuan/mt, up 740 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 78,840 yuan/mt, up 760 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot Market: Guangdong's inventory has declined for two consecutive days, hitting a recent low, mainly due to still low arrivals... 》Click for details

Macro Front

Domestic:

[National Bureau of Statistics (NBS): Prices of 12 Major Production Materials Rose in the First 10 Days of May in the Circulation Sector] Caijing News, May 14: The NBS released today the price changes of major production materials in the circulation sector during the first 10 days of May 2025. According to monitoring of market prices for 50 major production materials across nine categories in the national circulation sector, compared to the last 10 days of April, prices of 12 products rose, 32 fell, and 6 remained unchanged.

[PBOC Net Withdraws 103.5 Billion Yuan from Open Market Operations] The People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted 92 billion yuan in 7-day reverse repo operations today, with an operating interest rate of 1.40%, unchanged from the previous rate. As 195.5 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repo operations matured today, a net withdrawal of 103.5 billion yuan was achieved.

►On May 14, the central parity rate of the RMB exchange rate in the inter-bank foreign exchange market was set at 7.1956 RMB per US dollar.

US dollar:

As of 11:38, the US dollar index fell by 0.07% to 100.92. The US dollar index declined on Tuesday after data showed that US inflation was lower than expected. US consumer prices rose mildly in April, marking the smallest annual increase in four years, as a decline in food costs partially offset a rise in rents. However, the inflation outlook remains uncertain amid tariff concerns. Traders are awaiting the release of US producer price index (PPI) data on Thursday to gain insights into the US Fed's interest rate path. They anticipate a 53 basis point interest rate cut starting from September this year.

Other currencies:

The GBP/USD pair held steady. The UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England hope that the repurchase system will generate profits for the Bank of England. There are no significant data releases in the UK today. The Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Ben Broadbent, delivered a speech, with uncertainty prevailing. Trump's Middle East trip is expected to generate a lot of news. (Huitong Finance)

Macro:

Today, data such as the US May IPSOS Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI) and the final annual German April CPI rate will be released. In addition, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller will deliver a speech on "Central Bank Research," and Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr will speak on the economic outlook. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will participate in the NATO Foreign Ministers' Informal Meeting from May 14 to 16 to discuss NATO's security priorities, including increasing defense investment and ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Crude oil:

As of 11:38, crude oil futures dropped slightly, with US crude oil falling by 0.66% and Brent crude oil declining by 0.65%. Oil prices fluctuated rangebound, supported by easing trade tensions and a weaker US dollar.

Declines in US gasoline and distillate inventories suggest a recovery in fuel demand, also supporting oil prices. Data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed an increase in US inventories last week, with gasoline and distillate inventories declining. US crude oil inventories rose by 4.3 million barrels for the week ended May 9. Gasoline inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels, and distillate inventories decreased by 3.7 million barrels. Analysts surveyed earlier had expected, on average, a decline of about 1.1 million barrels in US crude oil inventories, a drop of about 600,000 barrels in gasoline inventories, and an increase of about 100,000 barrels in distillate inventories. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release its weekly crude oil inventory report at 22:30 on Wednesday. (Webstock Inc.)

Spot market overview:

►The price spread between futures contracts before delivery has not narrowed, with downstream buyers reluctant to purchase, leading to a decline in premiums. [SMM South China Spot Copper]

Updates on other metal spot markets will be available later. Please refresh to view.