The Operating Rate of the Copper Plate/Sheet and Strip Industry in March Was 77.25%

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $12,398/mt, touching a high of $12,398/mt at the start of the session. Copper prices then fluctuated downward, hitting a low of $12,280/mt, before moving sideways to finally close at $12,328.5/mt, down 0.16%. Trading volume reached 16,000 lots, and open interest stood at 294,000 lots, a decrease of 473 lots from the previous trading day, mainly driven by bulls reducing positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2605 contract opened at 96,040 yuan/mt, touching a high of 96,300 yuan/mt at the start of the session. Copper prices then shifted downward, hitting a low of 95,540 yuan/mt, before moving sideways to finally close at 95,850 yuan/mt, down 0.74%. Trading volume reached 33,000 lots, and open interest stood at 177,000 lots, an increase of 1,074 lots from the previous trading day, mainly driven by bears adding positions.

Panama’s government expects to issue a resolution by Tuesday allowing First Quantum Minerals to remove stockpiled ore from the closed Cobre Panama copper mine, Trade Minister Julio Molto said Monday.The mine holds about 38 million metric tons of stockpiled ore, which could yield roughly 70,000 tons of copper. First Quantum has said processing could begin about three months after formal approval and take around a year to complete.