Have Concerns Over the Middle East Conflict Eased? The Most-Traded BC Copper Contract Closed Down 0.7% [SMM BC Copper Commentary]

Published: Mar 27, 2026 15:13

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Today, the most-traded BC copper 2604 contract opened at 84,590 yuan/mt. After the daytime session opened, it touched a low of 83,920 yuan/mt. Following the opening, the center kept rising, and during the afternoon session it touched a high of 85,490 yuan/mt, before finally closing at 84,840 yuan/mt, up 0.7%. Open interest stood at 1,868 lots, down 468 lots from the previous trading day, while trading volume reached 1,952 lots, down 2,118 lots from the previous trading day. On the macro front, US President Trump again extended by 10 days the deadline he had set for not attacking Iran’s energy facilities, saying that talks with Iran were “going very smoothly,” which eased market concerns over a prolonged conflict. Fundamentally, imported cargoes continued to arrive, while arrivals of domestic cargoes remained stable, leaving overall supply ample. Demand side, affected by the pullback in copper prices, downstream buyers mainly maintained just-in-time procurement.

The SHFE copper 2604 contract closed at 95,950 yuan/mt. Based on the BC copper 2604 contract price of 84,840 yuan/mt, its tax-inclusive price was 95,869 yuan/mt. The price spread between the SHFE copper 2604 contract and BC copper was 81 yuan/mt, and the spread remained in contango structure, narrowing somewhat from the previous day.

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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