Today, spot prices of #1 copper cathode in North China were at a discount of 250 yuan/mt to 190 yuan/mt against the front-month contract, with an average discount of 220 yuan/mt, up 30 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The transaction prices ranged from 78,250 yuan/mt to 78,530 yuan/mt, with an average price of 78,390 yuan/mt, down 280 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

According to SMM, the operating rate of copper cathode rod enterprises in May was 70.26%, down 3.59 percentage points MoM and 0.75 percentage points lower than the expected value. The operating rate of copper cathode rod enterprises in May increased by 7.42 percentage points YoY. Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 81.96%, that of medium-sized enterprises was 52.89%, and that of small enterprises was 55.10%.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: On Friday evening, LME copper opened at $9,566/mt, touching a low of $9,532/mt shortly after the opening bell. It then fluctuated upward throughout the session, reaching a high of $9,654.5/mt near the close, and finally closed at $9,647.5/mt, down 0.44%. Trading volume reached 18,000 lots, and open interest reached 291,000 lots. On Friday evening, the most-traded SHFE copper 2507 contract opened at 77,910 yuan/mt, touching a low of 77,810 yuan/mt shortly after the opening bell. It then fluctuated upward throughout the session, reaching a high of 78,480 yuan/mt near the close, before pulling back slightly to close at 78,350 yuan/mt, down 0.06%. Trading volume reached 30,000 lots, and open interest reached 192,000 lots.

[SMM Analysis: When It Rains, It Pours - Global Copper Concentrates Supply-Demand Balance After the Earthquake at KK Mine] At the end of May, Chinese smelters and Antofagasta commenced mid-year negotiations. In the first round of negotiations this year, miners had already offered a midpoint price of -US$15 to the smelters. This figure was significantly lower than the US$0/dmt that had circulated in the market in late April. According to SMM, many raw material procurement teams from leading smelters in the CSPT group indicated that the negotiations were fraught with difficulties, and it was exceptionally challenging to secure a favorable figure.