SMM Tin Morning Brief, May 13, 2026:
Futures: The most-traded SHFE tin contract edged up during the night session before moving sideways around the 430,000 yuan level, closing at 438,920 yuan/mt, up 2.12%.
Macro: (1) According to the Financial Times, XPeng Motors (XPEV.N) was in talks with Volkswagen and other automakers about acquiring a factory in Europe. Days earlier, Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume said the company might bring models developed in China to the European market and even share capacity with Chinese partners in Europe. Cheng Xiaoguang, XPeng Motors' head of Northeast Europe, said XPeng was in discussions with Volkswagen to explore "whether it is possible for us to find a location in Europe." Volkswagen holds a stake in XPeng Motors and has three joint venture partners in China — SAIC, FAW Group, and JAC. However, none of these partners currently have production capabilities in Europe. XPeng Motors would also consider building a new factory in Europe, the report said. "We don't think all factories can meet the needs of our latest or future products," Cheng Xiaoguang said, adding that Volkswagen's factories were "somewhat outdated." (2) On May 13, Tencent executives said during the Q1 earnings call that the company's capital expenditure would increase going forward, and more domestically produced chips would be put into use in H2 this year. Tencent Cloud had been lacking sufficient GPU resources to meet all external client demands, which affected its ability to gain more revenue and market share. Tencent executives said AI investments included short-cycle and long-cycle investments, and the company would not manage each related product on a quarterly basis but would review them based on asset portfolios and life cycles.
Fundamentals: (1) Supply side: Most smelters focused on stable production in May. (2) Demand side: Downstream procurement remained cautious, with purchases made based on order conditions.
Spot market: Overall spot trading volume was limited throughout the day. Shipments in the trading segment faced considerable difficulty. Market inquiries were mainly driven by rigid demand, and downstream producers mostly stayed on the sidelines.
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