Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (Sep 10)

On August 19, the SHFE copper cathode 2609 contract price pulled back from the previous trading day, mainly trading within the range of 106,650 yuan/mt to 106,900 yuan/mt during the session. As the center of copper prices shifted lower, end-user procurement sentiment improved. According to SMM, recent order performance of some downstream enterprises improved significantly WoW, and purchase willingness for copper cathode subsequently strengthened. However, some warrant cargoes that were not matched for delivery began to flow into the spot market, exerting some downward pressure on spot premiums. While demand improved, the supply of spot circulating cargoes increased, downstream counteroffers were notable, and premiums came under some pressure.

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected nine projects for up to $162 million in potential funding to advance recovery of critical materials including copper from industrial feedstocks, byproducts and waste streams. Copper-related selections include Still Bright’s ambient-temperature electrochemical copper extraction process and SiTration’s technology for selectively recovering copper and other metals from complex mining, refining, recycling and industrial waste streams. The selections remain subject to award negotiations.

Sims Limited plans to invest US$21.6 million in downstream processing across its North American recycling network to increase value recovery from shredded material, including copper and other non-ferrous metals. Its North America Metal and SA Recycling operations currently span around 230 sites and 35 auto shredders, with FY26 non-ferrous sales reaching 1.228 million tonnes. Sims is also investing in copper fines processing and its Pinkenba recycling hub as strong copper demand from AI infrastructure, electrification and grid investment supports further non-ferrous recovery.