US-Iran Negotiation Window May Reopen, Silver Prices Slightly Recover [SMM Daily Commentary]

Today SMM's taken price at 10:00 for Ag (T+D) on the Shanghai Gold Exchange was 14,641 yuan/kg, with the premium/discount range quoted at TD -5 to +10 yuan/kg, averaging +2.5 yuan/kg.

On the macro front, U.S. officials said technical-level talks with Iran continued, and the U.S. remained committed to finding a solution; sources said Pakistan was still mediating, and the window for U.S.-Iran negotiations might open again. Affected by this, the U.S. dollar index pulled back from around 101, coupled with the U.S. weekly initial jobless claims released Thursday evening at 215,000, slightly below expectations, precious metals saw a technical recovery. However, under the rate hike theme in H2, the rebound may be quite limited.

Spot market side, demand remained weak today, with many sell orders in the market. Silver prices rebounded slightly, but overall premiums/discounts continued to move lower, and transactions were mainly negotiated down. In Shanghai, morning quotes were mainly concentrated at TD parity to +10 yuan/kg, with a small amount of cargo transacting at a premium, but actual deals were mostly near parity. In Shenzhen, some standard-grade cargoes were mainly around a small discount to TD parity, and cheaper sources increased in the market. Today's market premium/discount quote against the most-traded SHFE 2608 futures contract was at a discount of 40 to 20 yuan/kg.

Overall, the downward trend for precious metals remained unchanged, with a small technical rebound recently due to easing U.S.-Iran tensions. Spot premiums/discounts continued to decline, deals were near parity, and demand stayed weak.