Shanghai Copper Market to Face Ongoing Pressure Amid Slower Demand and Contango Structure

The operating rate of secondary copper rod in March 2026 was 14.25%, below the expected 16.26%, up 6.27 percentage points MoM and down 25.93 percentage points YoY. In March, China's secondary copper rod market struggled under multiple pressures including wild swings in copper prices, deepening industrial fiscal and tax policy reforms, and structural tightness in raw material supply, failing to exhibit the traditional seasonal recovery

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to tomorrow, the Shanghai spot copper market is expected to remain under pressure. Demand side, after the rapid rise in copper prices, orders from downstream enterprises decreased somewhat, with most enterprises still primarily making just-in-time procurement, though demand resilience remains. Market structure side, the inter-month Contango price spread between futures contracts widened slightly. Suppliers who previously held long positions in the near-month contract are more inclined to hold open interest for delivery rather than sell spot cargo at low prices under the contango structure, showing low willingness to sell at low prices and a strong willingness to hold prices firm. Overall, spot prices against the SHFE copper 2604 contract are expected to remain at current levels tomorrow.