Inventory remains high, demand growth slows down, and iron ore prices trend steadily [SMM Brief Review]

In recent years, the PV industry has entered a period of deep adjustment, with module prices continuing to decline, and both upstream and downstream segments of the industry chain facing severe profit compression. Driven by the imperative of "extreme cost reduction," PV glass, a key auxiliary material for PV modules, has imposed increasingly stringent requirements on the cost and quality of upstream raw materials.

Post-holiday, the domestic manganese ore market at northern and southern ports showed divergent trends. By port: Transaction prices for manganese ore at Tianjin Port remained firm, with stable market operations; Qinzhou Port, however, performed sluggishly, with few inquiries and overall sluggish transactions.

[Post-holiday silicon metal market activity gradually recovers; focus on operating rate changes on both supply and demand sides]: During the first workweek after the Chinese New Year holiday, downstream users of silicon metal mainly inquired about prices, with only small volumes of rigid demand restocking transactions concluded. Trading firms engaging in both spot and futures market quoted prices actively, while silicon enterprises mostly maintained stable offers and adopted a wait-and-see stance compared to pre-holiday levels. As of February 26, SMM oxygen-blown #553 silicon in east China was at 9,200-9,300 yuan/mt, #441 silicon at 9,300-9,500 yuan/mt, and #3303 silicon at 10,200-10,400 yuan/mt. On the export front, overseas users showed active inquiry performance after the holiday, but export order prices remained involutionary. In the futures market, the most-traded contract weakened on Thursday afternoon, closing at 8,335 yuan/mt at the end of the session. Throughout the week, the most-traded contract moved within a range of 8,330-8,495 yuan/mt. Most silicon enterprises maintained strong wait-and-see sentiment with stable offers, while futures consolidated at lows and trading firms engaging in both spot and futures market quoted actively, resulting in on-demand transactions in the market.