Copper Rebounds as China Stockpiling Plans and Risk Appetite Support Prices

Copper and broader base metals have eased from recent highs as China’s share of global metal demand growth has declined significantly compared to pre-pandemic years and speculative positions in Shanghai unwound. Shanghai futures briefly hit record highs above RMB 114,000/t, but open interest and prices have since fallen, also pushing down London prices.

The domestic sales market for refrigerators and freezers in China experienced a volatile trend in 2025. Due to pressure from the high base of the previous year, coupled with factors such as overdrawn demand and weak end-use consumption, the total annual domestic sales volume reached 58.27 million units, down 2.7% YoY. Among them, refrigerator products performed slightly better than freezers, aided by the continuation of the trade-in policy.

[ChinaIOL Latest Data] In 2025, China's refrigerator and freezer production and sales scale both exceeded 140 million units, increasing slightly YoY, with the growth rate significantly slowing down compared to the same period last year.