Domestic Blister Copper RCs Rose Above 1,000 Yuan/mt, Market Supply Faces New Variables in April [SMM Analysis]

SMM April 1 News: In March 2025, the blister copper RCs in south China were quoted at 750-1,050 yuan/mt, with an average of 900 yuan/mt, down 100 yuan/mt MoM. The blister copper RCs in north China were quoted at 700-900 yuan/mt, with an average of 800 yuan/mt, flat MoM. The CIF blister copper RCs were quoted at $90-95/mt, with an average of $92.5/mt, flat MoM. In March, the domestic blister copper market reversed, and the blister copper RCs rebounded after a decline. In late February, copper prices fluctuated rangebound, leading suppliers of secondary copper raw materials to hold back cargoes, which reduced the supply of copper scrap raw materials in China. Meanwhile, due to the severe inversion of the SHFE/LME price ratio and the suspension of imports from the US by some traders around Trump's inauguration, copper scrap imports also dropped significantly. These two factors jointly led to an expected decline in the supply of copper anode made from scrap in China, thereby dragging down domestic RCs. However, with the continuous rise in copper prices in mid-March, the supply of secondary copper raw materials in China increased. At the same time, high copper prices suppressed downstream consumption, and the price performance of secondary copper rods was poor, leading many companies to shift their capacity to copper anodes. After the market supply increased, the spot blister copper RCs climbed to over 1,000 yuan/mt. On the import side, due to the continuous inversion of the SHFE/LME price ratio and the rise in domestic RCs, smelters showed little interest in imported materials, resulting in low market activity. SMM's weekly blister copper RCs in south China were quoted at 1,000-1,200 yuan/mt, with an average of 1,100 yuan/mt, up 250 yuan/mt WoW. The weekly blister copper RCs in north China were quoted at 700-1,100 yuan/mt, with an average of 900 yuan/mt, up 100 yuan/mt WoW. The weekly CIF blister copper RCs were quoted at $90-100/mt, with an average of $95/mt, up $2.5/mt WoW. The weekly copper anode RCs were quoted at 800-900 yuan/mt, with an average of 850 yuan/mt, up 200 yuan/mt WoW. In April, thanks to the increase in market supply in late March, the center of domestic blister copper RCs rose above 1,000 yuan/mt. However, at the beginning of the month, copper prices pulled back to below 80,000 yuan/mt, weakening the willingness to sell of secondary copper suppliers, and the price of secondary copper rods rebounded. In addition, due to the large amount of copper scrap inventories sold in mid to late March and the potential gap in imported materials, if copper prices do not continue to rise, the market supply is expected to tighten again. > Order to view SMM metal spot historical prices > Click to view SMM copper industry chain database