Inventory Declines for Three Consecutive Days, Spot Premiums Rise, Overall Trading Remains Moderate [SMM South China Spot Copper]

Doosan Group said on September 17 that it will invest approximately KRW 968.4 billion (about USD 701.5 million) to expand high-end copper-clad laminate (CCL) production in South Korea and China. Roughly KRW 421 billion will expand domestic CCL lines for optical modules, while about KRW 547.4 billion will build a new plant in Changshu, China, for AI accelerators and network switches via wholly-owned Doosan Electro-Materials Changshu, with an additional KRW 182.4 billion capital injection. The three-year investment runs through 2028, with new lines scheduled to begin operations in the second half of 2028. In H1 2026, utilization at Doosan's Jeungpyeong and Gimcheon plants reached 109.8% and 102.7%, respectively, while the China plant ran at 92.2%. Q2 2026 optical-module CCL sales jumped more than tenfold year-on-year to about KRW 50 billion, and network-board CCL sales reached KRW 369.2 billion, accounting for more than half of the Electronics Business Group's revenue.

[SMM Copper Cathode Rod Flash] New orders continued to expand, and with the holiday approaching, finished product inventories destocked at a faster pace. Production willingness at copper cathode rod enterprises strengthened, and the operating rate is expected to rise 2.31 percentage points WoW next week.

[SMM Copper Cathode Rod Flash] The decline in absolute prices prompted copper rod enterprises to restock intensively, with raw material inventories rising MoM. The pullback in copper prices, coupled with the approaching Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, encouraged downstream users to stockpile in advance, driving finished product inventories down significantly MoM.