Consecutive Price Cuts Boost Transactions, Shanghai Spot Copper Premiums Center Shifts Down [SMM Shanghai Spot Copper]

Published: Aug 20, 2026 13:35

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[Shanghai spot copper] Looking ahead to tomorrow, buying sentiment in the Shanghai region continued to recover during the day, but market transactions remained dominated by flows between traders. Although some downstream players made just-in-time procurement, actual demand growth was relatively limited, and end-use consumption has not shown a significant improvement. Quotes for standard-quality copper were continuously lowered from a premium of around 350 yuan/mt in the early session to approximately 260 yuan/mt, after which transactions increased, reflecting the market's still low acceptance of high-premium cargoes. Suppliers still have the willingness to lower quotes to facilitate transactions. On the other hand, available cargoes of high-quality copper and non-registered copper were relatively scarce, coupled with the inter-month back price spread maintained at 310-350 yuan/mt, providing some support to quotes for certain brands. In summary, against the backdrop of traders' purchases providing some demand support but limited downstream procurement growth and strong willingness of suppliers to sell, spot copper prices against the SHFE 2609 contract are expected to remain at a premium tomorrow, with the overall center likely to continue shifting slightly downward.

SMM August 20 news:

Today, SMM #1 copper cathode spot prices against the SHFE copper 2609 contract were quoted at a premium of 260-440 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 350 yuan/mt, down 45 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In early trading, the SHFE copper 2609 contract initially shot up and then quickly pulled back, trading below the average line for an extended period with bears temporarily dominating; in the final session, prices rebounded steadily and regained the average line, hitting the intraday high of 107,370 yuan/mt at close. The monthly backwardation spread between the two contracts ranged from 310 to 350 yuan/mt, and the import profit margin for SHFE copper against the 2609 contract was a loss of 760-700 yuan/mt.

During the day, the Shanghai spot copper selling sentiment was 3.36, up 0.03 WoW, and the purchasing sentiment was 3.53, up 0.15 WoW. Historical data can be queried from the database. At the start of early trading, suppliers' initial quotes for standard-quality copper were at a premium of 320-380 yuan/mt, followed by multiple consecutive sharp reductions in quotes, with standard-quality copper (Tiefeng, Zijin, etc.) falling from a premium of 350 yuan/mt to around 260 yuan/mt, and good-parity copper (Lufang, etc.) quoted at a premium of 300-340 yuan/mt. High-quality copper remained scarce, with some Jinchuan (plate) transacted at a premium of 440 yuan/mt and Guixi at a premium of 450 yuan/mt; unregistered copper was also scarce, with only some JCC and Commus available, quoted at a premium of 150-210 yuan/mt.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, Shanghai's spot copper purchasing sentiment continued to recover during the day, but market transactions remained dominated by inventory turnover among traders. Although some downstream players made just-in-time procurement, actual demand growth was relatively limited, and end-use consumption had not yet shown significant improvement. Standard-quality copper quotes, after being continuously lowered from around 350 yuan/mt in early trading to about 260 yuan/mt, saw some increase in transactions, indicating that the market's acceptance of high-premium supply remained low, and suppliers still had a willingness to lower quotes to facilitate sales. On the other hand, available supply of high-quality copper and unregistered copper remained relatively scarce, coupled with the monthly back spread maintained at 310-350 yuan/mt, providing some support for certain brand quotes. Overall, with traders purchasing providing some demand support but limited downstream buying growth and strong willingness to sell among suppliers, spot copper prices against the 2609 contract are expected to maintain a premium tomorrow, with the overall center likely to shift slightly downward.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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