Copper Prices Fluctuated and Consolidated, Suppliers Maintained Low Shipments [SMM Secondary Copper Raw Material Weekly Review]

Published: Apr 18, 2025 16:41

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【SMM Analysis: Copper Prices Consolidate with Suppliers Maintaining Low Shipments】 This week, copper prices fluctuated rangebound between 75,500-76,500 yuan/mt, while the price of bare bright copper in Guangdong also hovered between 70,600-71,000 yuan/mt. According to the person in charge of a secondary copper raw material yard interviewed, after the rebound in copper prices ended, some secondary copper raw material inventories remained in a loss-making state, and therefore, they would not consider selling too much of the secondary copper raw material inventory...

SMM April 18 News: This week, copper prices maintained a fluctuating trend within the range of 75,500-76,500 yuan/mt, while the price of bare bright copper in Guangdong also fluctuated between 70,600-71,000 yuan/mt. According to the person in charge of a secondary copper raw material yard interviewed, after the rebound in copper prices ended, some secondary copper raw material inventories were still in a loss-making state, so they would not consider selling too much of the inventory. Daily shipments were basically equal to the procurement volume. However, when copper prices fell rapidly on Wednesday, due to concerns about further price declines, they sold part of the inventory to reduce risks. After copper prices rebounded on Thursday, they firmly chose to hold the goods and wait for further price increases. From the perspective of raw material inventory of secondary copper rod enterprises, the secondary copper raw material inventory within the week was 4,170 mt, an increase of 420 mt MoM. The supply of secondary copper raw materials in the market was much less than before. The increase in raw material inventory of secondary copper rod enterprises was mainly due to the fact that most secondary copper rod enterprises suspended production at the beginning of the week due to insufficient raw material procurement on the day, and resumed production after accumulating enough secondary copper raw materials, thus increasing the raw material inventory.

In terms of imports, the domestic tariff rate on US imports has increased to 125%. Some importers have considered using Japan and South Korea or Southeast Asian countries as transit points, but considering that the shipping period would be extended by at least one month, shipping costs would increase by 30%-50% compared to direct shipping to China, and various hidden costs would also increase, unless they are long-term bullish on copper prices, importers temporarily do not consider purchasing secondary copper raw materials from the US through transshipment.

This week, the CIF price of US #1 copper scrap was the COMEX copper May contract price minus 75-76¢/lb, and the CIF price of #2 copper scrap was the COMEX 3M copper contract price minus 78-81¢/lb. The fixed price of US brass scrap (69-70.5% LME) was $6,250-6,350/mt (small volume transactions). The LME coefficient for non-US 98.5 copper wire nodules CIF price was 96.5-97%, and the LME coefficient for non-US bare bright copper CIF price was 98.5-98.75%.

Looking ahead to next week, copper prices are expected to maintain a fluctuating trend, and the secondary copper raw material market will continue to have low circulation. When the copper price rebounds to around 80,000 yuan/mt, the supply of secondary copper raw materials in the market will significantly increase.

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