Month-End Downstream Restocking Demand Declined, Suppliers Slightly Lowered Premiums for Shipments [SMM South China Spot Copper]

Published: Mar 30, 2026 11:29

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SMM News, March 30:

Today in Guangdong, spot #1 copper cathode against the front-month contract was quoted at a premium of 130 yuan/mt for high-quality copper, down 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 40 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt from yesterday; SX-EW copper was quoted at a discount of 20 yuan/mt, unchanged from last Friday. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 95,225 yuan/mt, down 270 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 95,120 yuan/mt, down 255 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Spot market: After the weekend, Guangdong inventory continued to decline and has now fallen for 10 consecutive trading days. Although inventory kept falling, suppliers did not continue to hold prices firm on shipments today, but instead lowered prices slightly to move cargo, mainly because downstream restocking interest was mediocre, with tight funds and invoices at month-end being the main reasons. Today, copper cathode procurement sentiment in Guangdong stood at 2.51, down 0.11 from the previous trading day, while shipment sentiment was 3.63, up 0.04 from the previous trading day (historical data is available in the database).

Overall, downstream restocking interest weakened at month-end, and suppliers slightly lowered premiums for shipments, with overall trading not as good as last Friday.

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