Copper Prices Continued to Rise as Suppliers Actively Cut Prices to Sell, Overall Trading Remained Sluggish [SMM South China Spot Copper]

Published: Jun 3, 2026 11:34

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SMM June 3 update:

Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot prices against the front-month contract today: high-quality copper was quoted at 30 yuan/mt, down 30 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was quoted at a discount of 40 yuan/mt, down 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; SX-EW copper was quoted at a discount of 100 yuan/mt, up 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 106,680 yuan/mt, up 720 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, and the average price of SX-EW copper was 106,585 yuan/mt, up 715 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Spot market: Guangdong inventory continued to edge down today, mainly due to reduced arrivals. Copper prices rose again, and downstream buyers generally adopted a wait-and-see attitude. Suppliers had no choice but to significantly lower premiums to sell, causing premiums to decline notably today. However, market trading activity remained poor despite this. The purchasing sentiment for copper cathode in Guangdong today was 1.32, down 0.14 from the previous trading day, and the shipments sentiment was 2.78, up 0.06 from the previous trading day (historical data can be accessed via the database).

Overall, as copper prices continued to rise, suppliers proactively lowered prices to sell, and overall trading activity was weak.

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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