The most-traded SHFE tin contract opened slightly higher in the night session and maintained a high-level sideways trend, with trading in the spot market coming to a halt. [SMM Tin Morning News]

January 13, 2026 SMM Tin Morning Brief:

Futures: The most-traded SHFE tin contract (SN2602) opened slightly higher in the night session and maintained high-level consolidation, closed at 383,410 yuan/mt, up 5.24%, driven strongly by macro sentiment.

Macro: (1) The White House stated that Trump did not instruct the Justice Department to investigate Powell. US media reported that prosecutors initiated the investigation without notifying the White House and the main Justice Department, and Bessent was "very unhappy." Trump will interview BlackRock executive Rick Rieder this week for the Fed Chairman position. (2) Cui Dongshu from the Passenger Car Association posted, stating that he believes the negotiation outcome of China and Europe replacing hefty tariffs with price commitments is a significant breakthrough in pragmatic win-win cooperation. This mechanism preserves core market access for Chinese EVs in the EU, avoids the impact of hefty tariffs, stabilizes market access foundations, and stabilizes industry expectations. In 2025, the market share of Chinese brands in the European EV market exceeded 10%, with Chinese independent brand companies growing rapidly in the EU; this outcome will further consolidate this momentum. Meanwhile, price constraints will force enterprises to abandon low-price competition and accelerate high-end transformation and localization of production layout in Europe. In the short term, leading automakers will dominate the market with technological and scale advantages; in the long run, synergy between China and Europe in the industry chain and technical standards will drive Chinese EVs to achieve an average annual growth rate of around 20% in the EU, providing an example for resolving global trade disputes.

Fundamentals: (1) Supply side: Most smelters' production is expected to remain stable in January. (2) Demand side: Downstream procurement is relatively cautious, with high prices significantly suppressing actual consumption.

Spot market: Spot market transactions nearly stalled yesterday, as the limit-up price during the session almost suppressed all procurement plans of downstream and end-user enterprises, with the entire market adopting a wait-and-see attitude.

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