Main sea freight index at Baltic Exchange rises further to 978 points

In August 2026, the price difference between primary metal and scrap widened from 3,455 yuan/mt at the beginning of the month to above 5,000 yuan/mt by month-end, reaching a historical extreme range. On August 17, it shot up to 5,533 yuan/mt. The price difference between copper cathode rod and secondary copper rod also fluctuated at highs in the 1,150-2,260 yuan/mt range.

[SMM Analysis: Invoice Costs Erode Price Spread Dividends, Peak Season Expectations Fail to Break Supply-Demand Deadlock] In August 2026, the price difference between copper cathode and copper scrap widened from 3,455 yuan/mt at the start of the month to above 5,000 yuan/mt by month-end, reaching a historical extreme range. On August 17, it shot up to 5,533 yuan/mt. The price difference between copper cathode rod and secondary copper rod also fluctuated at elevated levels within the 1,150-2,260 yuan/mt range. On paper, the substitution advantage of copper scrap over copper cathode reached unprecedented levels. However, in sharp contrast to the "golden price spread," spot copper scrap transactions throughout the month failed to see a corresponding surge in volume. The market exhibited a distorted pattern of "high price spreads, low transaction volumes, and strong invoice constraints.

US August employment unexpectedly surged, causing market expectations for a US Fed rate hike in September to heat up sharply, and financial assets swung wildly in response. On Friday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released data showing that nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in August, far exceeding the Wall Street median estimate of 55,000 and surpassing the upper bound of all institutional forecasts, marking the second-highest monthly gain of the year.