In May, the supply-demand pattern of the sulphuric acid market in many regions of China was adjusted again, with market prices first declining and then rising. In the first half of May, affected by the end of the spring farming season, sulphuric acid prices in many regions of China continued to pull back, with a significant decline particularly in the south China market, while prices in the northern market remained relatively stable overall.

[SMM Analysis:The Back structure is difficult to sustain ]

   The latest data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) indicates that in April 2025, China's imports of copper scrap and shredded copper scrap showed a trend of "MoM recovery but YoY contraction," with monthly imports reaching 204,700 mt, up 7.92% MoM but down 9.46% YoY. From January to April, cumulative imports totaled 777,000 mt, a slight YoY decrease of 0.81% (HS code 74040000).

SMM Analysis: According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China's copper foil imports in April 2025 were approximately 8,117.83 mt, up 9.68% YoY and down 3.90% MoM. From January to April 2025, China's cumulative copper foil imports were approximately 30,383.57 mt, up 3.45% YoY...

According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China exported 235,200 mt and 269,300 mt of wire and cable in March and April 2025, respectively, up 54.8% MoM and 14.5% MoM, and up 22.23% YoY and 21.7% YoY. From January to April, China's cumulative exports of wire and cable reached 915,700 mt, representing a cumulative YoY growth rate of 12.79%. Among them, copper wire and cable exports stood at 108,200 mt and 135,800 mt in March and April, respectively, up 47.59% MoM and 25.42% MoM,

[SMM Analysis:April China's Copper Concentrate Imports: Unexpected Yet Reasonable ] In April 2025, China's imports of copper concentrates reached a record 2.9244 million tons, up 22.16% month-on-month, 24.55% year-on-year, and 7.46% year-on-year cumulatively. It is not difficult to observe that from the end of 2024 to the first half of 2025, many copper smelters in China commenced operations, releasing rough smelting capacity. The surge in copper concentrate imports driven by the sharp increase in demand was reasonable, but such a high import volume was still unexpected. Let's specifically analyze the main sources of this high-level copper concentrate imports.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs, domestic copper plate/sheet and strip exports reached 10,741 mt in April 2025, up 1.87% MoM and 19.84% YoY. As of April, cumulative copper plate/sheet and strip exports from China totaled 39,166 mt, up 6.86% YoY.

SMM Analysis: According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China imported 74,200 mt of copper anode in April 2025, up 47.95% MoM and 14.00% YoY...

According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China exported a total of 264,500 mt of sulphuric acid in April 2025, up 383.05% YoY and down 18.62% MoM. As of April this year, China's total sulphuric acid exports reached 1.3179 million mt, with a cumulative YoY growth rate of 78.12%