Copper Cathode Rod Producers' Operating Rate Dips 3.61% WoW Amid Rising Copper Prices and Weak Demand

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to next week, the Shanghai spot copper market is expected to continue its relatively strong trend. From the delivery logic perspective, next week will be the last trading week for the SHFE copper 2604 contract. The inter-month Contango price spread between futures contracts has widened slightly, and under the contango structure, suppliers' willingness to hold positions for delivery has strengthened, with low inclination to sell spot cargo at low prices, providing strong support for spot premiums. Demand side, after copper prices rose, orders from some downstream processing enterprises may see a slight decline, but existing orders and production schedules remain generally stable, and just-in-time procurement continues. From the regional structure perspective, available spot copper in Jiangsu remains persistently tight, with some downstream enterprises reporting difficulties in spot procurement, further supporting spot premiums. Overall, driven by the combined effects of delivery expectations, the price spread structure between futures contracts, and tight regional supply, spot prices against the SHFE copper 2604 contract are expected to maintain a premium next week.

[SMM Copper Futures Alert] Intraday copper futures edged up nearly 1%, returning to a near 4-week high. LME copper rebounded above $12,700/mt, and SHFE copper moved back above 98,500 yuan/mt.