Global Central Bank Gold Buying Cooled, with Net Purchases of 19 mt in February Below the Annual Average

According to a Counterpoint Research report, global smartphone SoC shipments declined 8% YoY in Q1 2026. The ongoing memory shortage not only affected smartphone original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and SoC suppliers in new product development, but also prompted them to optimize their product portfolios. The high-end smartphone market performed relatively resilient, with rising costs largely passed on to end-use consumers. Meanwhile, the entry-level market gradually adopted lower-cost, older-generation chipsets to maintain smartphone price competitiveness. Both Qualcomm and MediaTek saw double-digit declines in shipments. In contrast, Apple, Samsung, Google, and UNISOC achieved positive growth. Among them, Apple, Samsung, and Google, benefiting from their supply chain integration capabilities, mitigated the impact of the current memory shortage to a certain extent.

As the global mobile communication standards 3GPP Release 17 and Release 18 continue to incorporate satellite communications into their specifications, Direct-to-Cell technology is accelerating toward maturity. According to the latest research by TrendForce, global satellite operators are actively shifting from traditional "satellite broadband services" to "Direct-to-Cell," with the global Direct-to-Cell market size estimated to grow to $7.6 billion in 2026, representing a year-on-year growth rate of approximately 49%.

The following table shows the ferrous and nonferrous metals movement on the SHFE and DCE on 27 Apr , 2026