Copper Prices Consolidate at Highs, Scrap Utilization Enterprise Quotations Polarize [SMM Secondary Copper Daily Review]

On August 19, Tibet Summit Resources released its 2026 interim report. During the reporting period, operations at Tajikistan-based Tazhong Mining remained generally stable. The company completed 2.096 million tonnes of mining output, 1.647 million tonnes of ore output, and 1.647 million tonnes of ore processing, representing YoY increases of 15.53%, 9.99%, and 8.36%, respectively. Total contained metal production of lead, zinc, copper and silver reached 56,800 tonnes. The company also produced 4,361 tonnes of crude lead, 45.77 tonnes of copper matte, and 1,275 tonnes of electrolytic lead.

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to tomorrow, intraday trading in the Shanghai spot market for copper cathode was relatively active, with purchase sentiment rebounding markedly. According to SMM, currently available cargo in the market is relatively tight. After the market entered the second trading session, low-priced cargo declined rapidly, and suppliers took the opportunity to raise their offers. On the one hand, recent port congestion has affected the pace of arrivals and warehousing for some imported copper, so imported supply has provided relatively limited replenishment to China’s spot market; on the other hand, as the export window for copper opens, some market participants have become more willing to export, which has also diverted some of the available cargo in China. In addition, rapid inventory drawdowns have further reinforced expectations of tight spot supply. Against this backdrop, suppliers are more inclined to hold prices firm and hold back from selling, while downstream buyers and traders still have restocking demand. Spot prices against the SHFE copper 2609 contract are expected to maintain a premium tomorrow, with the overall center likely to edge up. Copper prices remain at elevated absolute levels; if the premium continues to rise rapidly, downstream purchase willingness may be somewhat restrained, and the upside in the premium is expected to be relatively limited.