Pre-Holiday Market Trading Sluggish, but Spot Prices Remained Firm [SMM South China Spot Copper]

SMM April 30:

Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot prices against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 320 yuan/mt, unchanged from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper at a premium of 240 yuan/mt, unchanged; SX-EW copper at a premium of 180 yuan/mt, unchanged. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 101,575 yuan/mt, up slightly by 35 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 101,475 yuan/mt, up 35 yuan/mt.

Spot market: Guangdong inventory saw a significant decline today, as end-users carried out final restocking ahead of the holiday. On the last day before the holiday, market trading was quiet, and spot quotes remained at the previous day's level. Particularly on the trading side, affected by invoice-related issues, most participants adopted a wait-and-see stance, planning to resume trading after the Labour Day holiday. Guangdong copper cathode procurement sentiment was 2.2, down 0.02 from the previous trading day, while shipments sentiment was 3.45, down 0.15 (historical data available via the SMM database).

Overall, market trading was sluggish ahead of the holiday, but spot quotes remained firm. Attention should be paid to inventory buildup during the Labour Day holiday.