BC Copper fluctuated and closed higher, with a significant inventory buildup after the holiday [SMM BC Copper Review].

Today, the most-traded BC copper 2603 contract opened at 88,880 yuan/mt, touched a low of 88,8600 yuan/mt early in the session, then the center of copper prices fluctuated upward to a high of 90,750 yuan/mt, before fluctuating downward and finally closing at 90,050 yuan/mt, up 0.65%. Open interest reached 2,606 lots, down 670 lots from the previous trading day, while trading volume reached 3,212 lots, indicating bear position reduction. On the macro front, the US 10% global tariff officially took effect today; Trump had previously threatened to raise the rate to 15%, but as of the effective time, no official tax increase document had been issued. The White House is advancing the formulation of relevant orders, with the specific implementation time pending. On the supply side, domestic and imported copper saw concentrated arrivals, leading to loose supply. Demand side, downstream enterprises gradually resumed work after the Chinese New Year, with consumption slowly recovering. In terms of inventory, as of February 24, SMM nationwide mainstream copper inventories increased 43.81% MoM from pre-Chinese New Year levels.

SHFE copper 2603 contract closed at 101,510 yuan/mt. Based on the BC copper 2603 contract price of 90,050 yuan/mt, its post-tax price is 101,756 yuan/mt, resulting in a price spread of -246 between SHFE copper 2603 and BC copper. The spread remained inverted and widened significantly.