Inventory rises for 6th straight session, consumption weak; spot premiums decline [SMM South China Copper Spot]

Published: Jun 26, 2026 11:33

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SMM June 26:

Today, Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot against the front-month contract: high-quality copper quoted at 70 yuan/mt, down 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper quoted at a premium of 10 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt; and SX-EW copper quoted at a discount of 50 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 101,785 yuan/mt, up 645 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 101,695 yuan/mt, up 650 yuan/mt.

Spot market: Guangdong inventory increased for the sixth consecutive day, driven mainly by rising arrivals and weak consumption. As copper prices rebounded and the mid-year settlement approached, end-user restocking interest declined, and some suppliers actively lowered prices to sell. Standard-quality copper dropped to a discount of 10 yuan/mt at one point before slightly rebounding to a premium of 10 yuan/mt. Today, Guangdong's copper cathode purchasing sentiment was 2.7, down 0.09 from the previous trading day, and selling sentiment was 2.90, up 0.01 (historical data can be accessed via the database query).

Overall, inventory rose for the sixth straight day amid soft consumption, spot premiums edged lower, and trading was lackluster.

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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