Copper Prices Pull Back Sharply, Market Mostly in Wait-and-See Mode [SMM Secondary Copper Daily Review]

Published: Oct 15, 2026 15:31 (GMT+8)

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SMM October 15

At 11:30 today, futures closing price was 109,610 yuan/mt, down 2,140 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums averaged 85 yuan/mt, up 135 yuan/mt MoM from the previous trading day. Today, copper scrap prices fell 500 yuan/mt MoM. The copper scrap sales sentiment index dropped to 2.54, and the purchasing sentiment index dropped to 2.02. The price difference between copper cathode and copper scrap was 2,794 yuan/mt, down 910 yuan/mt MoM. The price difference between copper cathode rod and secondary copper rod was 0 yuan/mt. According to SMM survey, expectations for US Fed interest rate hikes intensified, and global metals prices pulled back sharply. In the intraday market, both purchasing and sales sentiment indexes for secondary copper rod enterprises and copper scrap traders pulled back. Due to wild price swings, transactions in the copper scrap market were hard to conclude. Upstream and downstream players are waiting for copper prices to stabilize before resuming quotations and purchasing and sales activities.

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