The supply of copper raw materials fell short of expectations, leading to a continuous reduction in copper anode inventories [SMM Analysis].

Published: Apr 18, 2025 17:18

Save

【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.

》View SMM Copper Quotes, Data, and Market Analysis

》Order and View SMM Metal Spot Historical Prices

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 anode copper imports from January to February, the expected anode copper imports in March, the copper scrap imports from January to February, and the expected copper scrap imports in March, it appears that the raw material supply contradicts the cumulative copper cathode production of 3.194 million mt from January to March as reported by SMM. In other words, both imported and domestic copper concentrate supplies fell short of expectations, imported anode copper did not exceed expectations, and copper scrap smelting volume failed to provide sufficient support, yet copper cathode production remained consistently high.

SMM believes that the discrepancy is partly due to copper smelters utilizing copper-containing materials such as lead-zinc concentrates and gold concentrates to support some copper production, resulting in the continuous depletion of anode copper inventories in the supply-demand balance table.

》Click to View SMM Copper Industry Chain Database

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

Feb 6, 2026 23:56

"Premier Li Qiang Leads State Council Meeting on Enhancing Effective Investment, Boosting Economic Growth"

Premier Li Qiang presided over an executive meeting of the State Council to study policy measures for promoting effective investment. The meeting noted that promoting effective investment plays an important role in stabilizing economic growth and strengthening momentum for development. It is necessary to innovate and improve policy measures, and intensify efforts to enhance the efficiency of utilizing funds such as central budget investments, ultra-long-term special treasury bonds, local government special bonds, and new-type policy-based financial instruments. In conjunction with formulating and implementing the 15th Five-Year Plan

Feb 6, 2026 23:56

Feb 6, 2026 23:54

"Guided by Xi Jinping Thought, Implement 20th CPC Congress Spirit, Apply New Development Philosophy...

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the plenary sessions of the Party’s 20th Central Committee, fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy, strengthen top-level design, build computing power interconnection nodes oriented toward national hub periods, major strategic regions, and key industries, establish a system of computing power interconnection nodes, improve the efficiency and service level of public computing power resources, and promote high-quality development of computing power.

Feb 6, 2026 23:54

Feb 6, 2026 23:47

Indirect Iran-US Nuclear Talks in Muscat Show Progress, Omani FM Mediates Tense but Efficient Discussions

After intensive indirect consultations, the new round of nuclear talks between Iran and the US in Muscat, the capital of Oman, has achieved phased progress. It is reported that during this round of talks, the Iranian and US delegations did not meet directly. Instead, Omani Foreign Minister Badr acted as an intermediary, conveying a series of core proposals, strategic concerns, and policy positions to the other side. The atmosphere at the talks was tense yet efficient. According to preliminary on-site assessments, although both sides continue to negotiate over specific terms, they have reached a consensus on the key objective of "continuing dialogue."

Feb 6, 2026 23:47