SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: On Friday night, LME copper opened at $12,495/mt. After opening, the price center fluctuated upward, reaching a high of $12,559/mt, then fluctuated downward to a low of $12,446.5/mt, before maintaining rangebound fluctuations. Approaching the close, the center moved downward, and it finally closed at $12,460.5/mt, down 0.29%. Trading volume decreased by 6,978 lots to 12,000 lots, and open interest decreased by 2,623 lots to 336,000 lots, primarily driven by long position reductions. On Friday night, the most-traded SHFE copper 2602 contract was closed due to the New Year's holiday, and the night session did not open.

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Next week, after the New Year's Day holiday, spot discounts for SHFE copper are expected to narrow compared to this week, taking into account the funding costs over the holiday. Approaching the delivery date, suppliers are likely to send more spot copper to delivery warehouses to facilitate the process, and spot discounts are expected to gradually narrow.

Spot prices of #1 copper cathode in North China against the front-month contract were at a discount of 600-400 yuan/mt today, with an average discount of 500 yuan/mt, up 30 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Transaction prices ranged from 97,880-99,140 yuan/mt, with an average of 98,510 yuan/mt, up 1,180 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.