Downstream buyers have largely completed restocking, but suppliers are still holding prices firm for shipments. [SMM South China Spot Copper]

Published: Feb 12, 2026 11:33

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SMM February 12:

Today, spot prices of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong against the front-month contract were at a discount of 100 yuan/mt to a premium of 20 yuan/mt, with the average discount at 40 yuan/mt, an increase of 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. SX-EW copper was quoted at a discount of 180 yuan/mt to a discount of 140 yuan/mt, with the average discount at 160 yuan/mt, up 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was 102,005 yuan/mt, rising 830 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 101,885 yuan/mt, up 780 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Spot market: Inventory in Guangdong ended three consecutive days of increases and declined again, mainly due to increased shipments. As truck fleets also entered the holiday period, many downstream users made restocking purchases yesterday, but few continued to restock today. Moreover, suppliers, seeing no hope for transactions, did not further reduce prices but actively held prices firm, leading to a slight increase in premiums. Today, procurement sentiment for copper cathode in Guangdong was 1.87, down 0.17 from the previous trading day, while shipment sentiment was 3.01, down 0.2 from the previous trading day (historical data can be queried in the database). As of 11:00, high-quality copper against the front-month contract was quoted at a premium of 20 yuan/mt, standard-quality copper at a discount of 100 yuan/mt, and SX-EW copper at a discount of 160 yuan/mt.

Overall, downstream users basically completed restocking, but suppliers still held prices firm for shipments, resulting in sluggish overall trading.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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