No Improvement in Consumption, Spot Premiums Under Pressure [SMM North China Spot Copper]

Published: May 19, 2026 11:24

Save

Today in North China, spot #1 copper cathode prices against the front-month contract were reported at an average discount of 300 yuan/mt to a discount of 200 yuan/mt, with the average discount of 250 yuan/mt down 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average transaction price was 104,075 yuan/mt, up 140 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

SMM May 19 update:

Today, spot #1 copper cathode prices in North China against the front-month contract were reported at a discount of 300 yuan/mt to a discount of 200 yuan/mt, with the average discount at 250 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average transaction price was 104,075 yuan/mt, up 140 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. After copper prices pulled back rapidly from highs, downstream buyers adopted a wait-and-see sentiment, with no notable improvement in consumption, and spot premiums remained under pressure. Today, the purchasing sentiment for copper cathode in North China was 1.82, down 0.16 from the previous trading day, while the shipments sentiment was 2.45, down 0.13 from the previous trading day ().

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.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

1 hour ago

Orient Cable and Subsidiary Win Bids Worth Approximately RMB 5.231 Billion Across Various Projects

[Orient Cable: Recent Bid-Winning Amount Approximately RMB 5.231 Billion] Orient Cable announced that recently, the company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Dongfang Offshore Engineering Institute, have successively received relevant bid-winning notices and bid-winning announcements, confirming the company and Dongfang Offshore Engineering Institute as the bidders for the relevant projects. Among them, the bid-winning amount for power engineering and equipment cables is approximately RMB 3.356 billion; the bid-winning amount for new energy power (submarine cables and high-voltage cables) is approximately RMB 1.113 billion; and the bid-winning amount for marine equipment and engineering operation and maintenance projects is approximately RMB 762 million. The combined bid-winning amount of the above projects is approximately RMB 5.231 billion.

1 hour ago

3 hours ago

Physical premiums dropped significantly, while forward buying interest emerged [SMM Yangshan spot copper]

3 hours ago

Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (Jun 10)

The following table shows the ferrous and nonferrous metals movement on the SHFE and DCE on 10 Jun , 2026

3 hours ago