End-User Holidays Lead Suppliers to Cut Prices for Sales, but Actual Transactions Remain Sparse [SMM South China Spot Copper]

SMM, January 17: Today, spot #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was quoted at a discount of 150 yuan/mt to parity against the front-month contract, with an average discount of 75 yuan/mt, down 25 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Hydro copper was quoted at a discount of 220-180 yuan/mt, with an average discount of 200 yuan/mt, down 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was 76,120 yuan/mt, up 235 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of hydro copper was 75,995 yuan/mt, up 220 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot market: Guangdong inventory has increased for five consecutive days, mainly due to higher arrivals and weaker consumption. According to our understanding, more downstream end-users will start their holidays from this weekend, leading to weak demand. Suppliers, aiming to offload cargoes, have continuously lowered prices, causing spot premiums to decline further. As of 11:00 am, high-quality copper was quoted at parity against the front-month contract, standard-quality copper at a discount of 150 yuan/mt, and hydro copper at a discount of 200 yuan/mt. Notably, due to the limited circulation of high-quality copper, its quotes remained firm at yesterday's levels. Overall, end-user holidays have increased, prompting suppliers to lower prices to offload cargoes, but actual transactions remain scarce. 》Subscribe to view historical SMM metal spot prices.