Falling Inventory Coupled With a Still-Wide Price Spread Between Futures Contracts Drove Spot Premiums Sharply Higher [SMM South China Spot Copper]

Published: Mar 11, 2026 11:35

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SMM News, March 11:

Today, in Guangdong, spot premiums for #1 copper cathode against the front-month contract were reported at 150 yuan/mt for high-quality copper, up 30 yuan/mt; 20 yuan/mt for standard-quality copper, up 70 yuan/mt; and a discount of 40 yuan/mt for SX-EW copper, up 70 yuan/mt. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 101,335 yuan/mt, unchanged from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 101,210 yuan/mt, up 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Spot market: Guangdong inventory pulled back again after increasing for only one day, mainly due to an increase in warehouse withdrawals. Falling inventory, coupled with the still-wide price spread between futures contracts, prompted suppliers to actively hold prices firm on shipments, while traders were also making purchases. However, faced with high spot premiums, downstream end-users made only limited restocking, and purchase willingness was weaker than yesterday. Today, purchasing sentiment for copper cathode in Guangdong was 2.74, up 0.12 from the previous trading day, while shipment sentiment was 3.42, up 0.3 from the previous trading day (historical data is available in the database).

Overall, falling inventory, coupled with the still-wide price spread between futures contracts, prompted suppliers to actively hold prices firm on shipments, and spot premiums rose sharply.

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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