Copper Miners Deliver Strong Earnings Growth

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to next week, the Shanghai spot copper market is expected to remain under pressure. Supply side, smelters will maintain normal operations during the Qingming Festival holiday, and domestic spot copper output will continue, while imported copper will arrive successively, making spot cargo in circulation in the post-holiday market more ample. In addition, although some suppliers sold off cargo slightly during the day, with Honglu quoted at a discount of 80 yuan/mt, this did not drive overall spot discounts lower, reflecting that suppliers still have the willingness to hold prices firm at current price levels, with spot discounts receiving some support on the downside. Overall, amid the tug-of-war between expectations of ample supply and suppliers' willingness to hold prices firm, Shanghai spot copper prices against the 2604 contract are expected to remain at a discount after the holiday.

【SMM Copper Cathode Rod Flash】This week, the operating rate of copper cathode rod rose MoM to 83.58, while overall enterprise operations remained stable. Affected by the rebound in copper prices, the operating pace of downstream industries slowed somewhat; however, copper cathode rod enterprises maintained stable production on the back of earlier orders on hand, and order support was expected to continue until mid-April.