China's Copper Wire Rod Exports Surge in April 2026, Led by Malaysia and Saudi Arabia

[Imports of Copper Scrap Remained Strong YoY] In April, the structural supply gap of copper scrap in China remained prominent. The tight invoice situation showed no significant improvement, with invoiced supplies remaining scarce in circulation, driving domestic trade prices persistently higher. From March to April, spot bare bright copper prices for imports in Zhejiang stayed at elevated levels, with discounts against futures contract maintained at 300-800 yuan/mt. Downstream compliant copper enterprises, constrained by production, operation, and tax requirements, maintained stable just-in-time procurement. Imported sources became an important channel to fill the domestic raw material gap, supporting copper scrap imports to maintain YoY growth.

[Copper Scrap Exports from Core Supplying Countries Pulled Back in April] Thailand and Japan, the top two supplying countries, both saw their exports to China decline MoM in April, with Thailand down 14.22% MoM and Japan down 17.60% MoM. Although their combined share still exceeded 30%, the MoM growth disappeared, weakening their support for overall imports.

[Import profit margins narrowed, purchase enthusiasm cooled] From late March to April, the center of copper prices continued to rebound, and ex-China secondary copper traders showed strong sentiment to hold prices firm, with the quotation coefficient of bare bright copper against LME remaining in a high range for an extended period, driving procurement costs continuously higher. However, downstream processing enterprises in China had limited acceptance of high-priced copper scrap and showed a strong willingness to push for lower prices. The profit margins on imported copper scrap narrowed compared to the previous period, which was one of the reasons for the MoM pullback in imports in April.