Inventory hits a new low for the year, spot premiums remain elevated, but spot trades have weakened compared with yesterday [SMM South China spot copper]

Published: Sep 24, 2026 11:38 (GMT+8)

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SMM, September 24:

Today in Guangdong, spot prices of #1 copper cathode against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 1,400 yuan/mt, flat from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 1,100 yuan/mt, flat from the previous trading day; SX-EW copper was quoted at a premium of 1,040 yuan/mt, flat from the previous trading day. The average price of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was 111,985 yuan/mt, down 630 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 111,775 yuan/mt, down 630 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Spot market: Guangdong inventory continued to decline today, falling for three consecutive days, mainly due to pre-holiday restocking. With inventory already at a new low for the year, suppliers held firm on high premium quotes, but downstream users were less willing to continue restocking after purchases over the previous two days, resulting in overall lackluster trading. Today, the purchasing sentiment for copper cathode in Guangdong was 2.61, down 0.08 from the previous trading day, while the selling sentiment was 2.73, up 0.02 from the previous trading day (historical data can be queried in the database).

Overall, inventory hit a new low for the year and spot premiums remained elevated, but spot trades weakened compared with yesterday.

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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