Downstream demand remained weak at the beginning of the month, and suppliers had to continuously cut prices to sell [SMM South China Spot Copper].

SMM August 3:

Today, spot #1 copper cathode prices in Guangdong against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was at a premium of 100 yuan/mt, down 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was at a premium of 10 yuan/mt, down 30 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; SX-EW copper was at a discount of 50 yuan/mt, down 30 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was 105,815 yuan/mt, up 25 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price for SX-EW copper was 105,695 yuan/mt, up 5 yuan/mt.

Spot market: After the weekend, Guangdong’s inventory ended a three-day decline, mainly due to increased arrivals and weak consumption. At the start of the month, downstream consumption had yet to improve, forcing suppliers to continuously lower premiums to sell. In early trading, standard-quality copper was quoted at 20 yuan/mt, but transactions were unsatisfactory, prompting suppliers to further reduce premiums, with some deals struck as low as 0 yuan/mt. On the day, the purchasing sentiment for copper cathode in Guangdong stood at 2.43, a marginal increase of 0.02 from the previous trading day, while the selling sentiment was 2.87, down 0.03 (historical data can be accessed via the database).

Overall, at the beginning of the month, downstream demand remained weak, and suppliers had to keep cutting prices to sell, resulting in lackluster trading overall.