Suppliers Sold Off Cargoes Before the Holiday Without Pressuring Discounts, Shanghai Spot Copper Discounts Held Steady [SMM Shanghai Spot Copper]

Published: Apr 3, 2026 11:54

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[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to next week, the Shanghai spot copper market is expected to remain under pressure. Supply side, smelters will maintain normal operations during the Qingming Festival holiday, and domestic spot copper output will continue, while imported copper will arrive successively, making spot cargo in circulation in the post-holiday market more ample. In addition, although some suppliers sold off cargo slightly during the day, with Honglu quoted at a discount of 80 yuan/mt, this did not drive overall spot discounts lower, reflecting that suppliers still have the willingness to hold prices firm at current price levels, with spot discounts receiving some support on the downside. Overall, amid the tug-of-war between expectations of ample supply and suppliers' willingness to hold prices firm, Shanghai spot copper prices against the 2604 contract are expected to remain at a discount after the holiday.

SMM, April 3:

In the morning session, the SHFE copper 2604 contract opened sharply higher, then fell before stabilizing and rebounding. It opened at 96,050 yuan/mt and climbed all the way to 96,450 yuan/mt after the open. Prices then fluctuated slightly before falling rapidly to an intraday low of 96,000 yuan/mt, after which they stabilized and rebounded somewhat, fluctuating between 96,140 yuan/mt and 96,300 yuan/mt, and closed at 96,230 yuan/mt. The Contango price spread between futures contracts stood between 70 yuan/mt and 20 yuan/mt. LME copper was closed today.

During the day, sales sentiment for copper cathode in Shanghai was 2.79, up 0.08 MoM, and purchasing sentiment was 2.74, up 0.03 MoM. . At the start of morning trading, suppliers quoted standard-quality copper at discounts of 70 yuan/mt to 10 yuan/mt, among which Peru plate, Poland plate, Lufang, Xiangguang, and JCC were quoted at discounts of 40 yuan/mt to 10 yuan/mt; Dajiang PC, Tiefeng, and Dajiang HS were quoted at discounts of 70 yuan/mt to 50 yuan/mt; Jinguan, Jinxin, and Jintun PC were quoted ex-works at discounts of 40 yuan/mt to 30 yuan/mt. High-quality copper such as Jinchuan (plate) was quoted at discounts of 20 yuan/mt to parity. Entering the second trading session, prices saw no major changes. Standard-quality copper such as Jinguan, Jintun PC, and Jinxin traded at discounts of 50 yuan/mt to 30 yuan/mt, while registered SX-EW copper BMK traded at quoted discounts of 130 yuan/mt to 120 yuan/mt.

Looking ahead to next week, the Shanghai spot copper market will remain under pressure. Supply side, smelters will maintain normal operations during the Qingming Festival holiday, and domestic spot cargo will continue to be produced. Coupled with the gradual arrival of imported copper, circulating cargo in the post-holiday market will become more ample. In addition, although some suppliers engaged in slight sell-offs during the day, with Honglu quoted at a discount of 80 yuan/mt, this did not drag overall spot discounts lower, reflecting that suppliers still had the willingness to hold prices firm at current price levels, providing some support to the downside of spot discounts. Overall, amid the tug-of-war between expectations of loose supply and suppliers' willingness to hold prices firm, Shanghai spot copper prices against the 2604 contract are expected to maintain discounts after the holiday.

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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