The intraday premium retreated after a rapid rise, ending merely flat from yesterday, and overall trading was moderate [SMM South China spot copper].

SMM, July 2:

Today, Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot prices against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was reported at 50 yuan/mt, unchanged from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was at 0 yuan/mt, unchanged; and SX-EW copper was at a discount of 60 yuan/mt, unchanged. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 102,340 yuan/mt, up 120 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 102,255 yuan/mt, also up 120 yuan/mt.

Spot market: Guangdong inventory finally ended its 9 consecutive increases and edged down, mainly driven by recovering downstream consumption. Benefiting from the inventory decline, suppliers actively held prices firm in early trading, pushing standard-quality copper up to a premium of 20 yuan/mt. However, buyers' purchase willingness was low, forcing an adjustment back down, with the final transaction price at parity, unchanged from yesterday. Today, copper cathode purchase sentiment in Guangdong was 2.48, edging up 0.03 from the previous day, while shipment sentiment was 2.86, down 0.03 (historical data can be accessed by logging into the database).

Overall, intraday premiums retreated after a rapid rise, only to close unchanged from yesterday, with overall trading being moderate.