The most-traded SHFE tin contract surged sharply late in the night session and closed at a high level, downstream enterprises showed weak purchase willingness [SMM Tin Morning Brief]

SMM Tin Morning Brief on April 1, 2026:

Futures: The most-traded SHFE tin contract opened slightly higher in the night session and then fluctuated downward, closing at 375,280 yuan/mt, up 1.63%.

Macro: (1) Nvidia (NVDA.O) said it had invested $2 billion in Marvell Technology (MRVL.O), and the two sides plan to cooperate in silicon photonics technology. Silicon photonics enables high-speed, energy-efficient data transmission, with two common application fields being artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun said in a statement on Tuesday: "Together with Marvell, we enable clients to leverage Nvidia's AI infrastructure ecosystem and build dedicated AI computing capabilities at scale." (2) On March 31, 2026, the launch meeting for the National NEV Power Battery Traceability Information Platform was held in Tianjin. More than 500 representatives attended the meeting from enterprises and organizations including power battery, NEV, battery swapping leasing, retired motor vehicle recycling and dismantling, and comprehensive utilization, as well as relevant industry associations and international institutions. At the meeting, relevant officials from the Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization introduced the progress of work related to the recycling and comprehensive utilization of retired NEV power batteries, as well as considerations for the next steps. Experts from the China Automotive Technology and Research Center interpreted the Interim Measures for the Administration of the Recycling and Comprehensive Utilization of Retired NEV Power Batteries and gave a detailed introduction to the operational key points of the National NEV Power Battery Traceability Information Platform. The National NEV Power Battery Traceability Information Platform integrates flow data on power batteries for relevant upstream and downstream entities in the industry chain, and features information traceability, enterprise responsibility performance evaluation, traceability information analysis, and industry-specific surveys. It supports full life cycle traceability management of power batteries and provides strong technical support for improving the regulatory level of retired NEV power battery recycling and comprehensive utilization.

Fundamentals: (1) Supply side: In March, most smelters gradually resumed production and operations, ending their holiday status. (2) Demand side: Downstream procurement remained cautious. Downstream enterprises gradually resumed production and operations, but orders were relatively mediocre.

Spot market: High prices led to weak purchase willingness among downstream enterprises, with most purchasing as needed and generally maintaining a wait-and-see attitude.Trader Shipments Were Under Pressure: Traders reported that after prices rose, client inquiries decreased, actual transactions were limited, and shipments became more difficult.

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