Lunar New Year Slowdown Weighs on Asian Copper Scrap Demand; Korea Discounts Fall Sharply While Japan Holds Firmer

Published: Feb 6, 2026 10:51

Save

China will enter Lunar New Year holidays next week, with logistics and scrap traders suspending operations, ending pre-holiday restocking. As the world’s largest copper scrap consumer steps back, demand across Asia has weakened. South Korea has seen clearer pressure, with No.2 scrap discounts falling from around 90% to 88%–89%. Japan, without a holiday shutdown, shows only a mild adjustment of about 0.5% in discounts.

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.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

1 min ago

Some Downstream Enterprises on Holiday, Trading in SHFE Copper Spot Market Sluggish [SMM Shanghai Spot Copper]

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Tomorrow, spot premiums and discounts are expected to face downward pressure. During the day, copper prices rose slightly, suppressing downstream demand, and actual market transactions were sluggish; coupled with some suppliers offloading cargo, spot premiums and discounts dropped slightly. Supply side, some price-ratio locked cargoes due to earlier import arbitrage opportunities have arrived at ports for circulation, and subsequent arrivals need to be monitored. Short-term spot supply is expected to gradually increase. Demand side, as some downstream enterprises enter holidays and most top-tier enterprises have completed pre-holiday stockpiling, actual procurement demand shows a weakening trend.

1 min ago

Common.Time.minsAgo

The Last Trading Week Before the Holiday, the Spot Market Tends to Cool Down [SMM North China Spot Copper]

In North China today, spot #1 copper cathode prices against the front-month contract were at a discount of 320-160 yuan/mt, with an average discount of 240 yuan/mt, unchanged from the previous trading day. Transaction prices ranged from 101,030-101,530 yuan/mt, with an average of 101,280 yuan/mt, up 1,955 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Common.Time.minsAgo

Common.Time.hoursAgo

Komakao Copper Mine Expansion Launches in Botswana, Marking China Minmetals' Major Investment Milestone

At 2 p.m. on February 6, Beijing time, the launch ceremony of the Komakao copper mine expansion project in Botswana was held in Maun, Botswana. The project is the first major investment project launched by China Minmetals Corporation during the 15th Five-Year Plan period and also the first major resource expansion project.

Common.Time.hoursAgo