【SMM Analysis: High Raw Material Prices Lead to Significant Decline in Secondary Copper Rod Operating Rate】According to SMM survey data, the operating rate of secondary copper rod this week was 22%, down 7.85 percentage points WoW and down 9.76 percentage points YoY. Meanwhile, the average price difference between copper cathode rod and secondary copper rod this week was 504 yuan/mt, down 85 yuan/mt MoM. In addition, the premium of Jiangxi secondary copper rod against copper futures was 82 yuan/mt, up 92 yuan/mt MoM......

[SMM Analysis:The supply of copper raw materials falling short of expectations has led to the continuous depletion of the inventory of copper anode] This week, the General Administration of Customs announced the import data of copper concentrate in March. In March 2025, the import volume of copper concentrate was 2.394 million tons, an increase of 2.7% year-on-year. From January to March 2025, China's cumulative import of copper concentrate was 7.108 million tons. In addition, considering the domestic supply of copper concentrate from January to March, the import volume of copper anode from January to February, the expected import volume of copper anode in March, the import volume of copper scrap from January to February, and the expected import volume of copper scrap in March.

【SMM Analysis: Copper Raw Material Supply Falls Short of Expectations, Leading to Continued Depletion of Copper Anode Inventories】This week, the General Administration of Customs released the March copper concentrate import data. In March 2025, copper concentrate imports reached 2.394 million mt, up 2.7% YoY. From January to March 2025, China's cumulative copper concentrate imports totaled 7.108 million mt. Additionally, considering the domestic copper concentrate supply from January to March, the copper anode imports from January to February, the expected copper anode imports in March, the copper scrap imports from January to February, and the expected copper scrap imports in March, it appears that the copper raw material supply is inconsistent with SMM's cumulative copper cathode production of 3.194 million mt from January to March. In other words, both imported and domestic copper concentrate supplies fell short of expectations, imported copper anode did not exceed expectations, and copper scrap smelting volume also failed to provide sufficient support, yet copper cathode production remained consistently high.

【SMM Analysis: Copper Prices Consolidate with Suppliers Maintaining Low Shipments】 This week, copper prices fluctuated rangebound between 75,500-76,500 yuan/mt, while the price of bare bright copper in Guangdong also hovered between 70,600-71,000 yuan/mt. According to the person in charge of a secondary copper raw material yard interviewed, after the rebound in copper prices ended, some secondary copper raw material inventories remained in a loss-making state, and therefore, they would not consider selling too much of the secondary copper raw material inventory...