In North China today, spot prices of #1 copper cathode against the front-month contract were at a discount of 140-100 yuan/mt, averaging a discount of 120 yuan/mt, unchanged from the previous trading day. The transaction price ranged from 79,560 to 79,680 yuan/mt, with an average of 79,620 yuan/mt, down 145 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

SMM Analysis: According to SMM, China's copper foil enterprises recorded an operating rate of 78.44% in August 2025, up 1.17 percentage points MoM and 9.71 percentage points YoY...

According to SMM, the operating rate of copper plate/sheet and strip producers stood at 65.87% in August 2025, edging up 0.25 percentage points MoM but down 5.36 percentage points YoY. Specifically, the operating rates were 70.32% for large enterprises, 59.29% for medium-sized enterprises, and 62.69% for small enterprises.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: On Friday evening, LME copper opened at $9,939/mt, initially rose to touch a high of $10,008/mt, then fluctuated downward and approached a low of $9,860/mt near the session close, finally settling at $9,865/mt, down 0.27%, with trading volume at 21,000 lots and open interest at 288,000 lots. On Friday evening, the most-traded SHFE copper 2510 contract opened at 80,290 yuan/mt, immediately touched a high of 80,400 yuan/mt at the session opening, then fluctuated downward and approached a low of 79,410 yuan/mt near the close, finally consolidating sideways to settle at 79,440 yuan/mt, down 0.63%, with trading volume at 53,000 lots and open interest at 183,000 lots.

The operating rate of secondary copper rod was 28.33% in August, higher than the expected 27.43%, down 2.57% MoM but up 3.62% YoY. The core challenge facing the secondary copper rod market in August stemmed from policy expectation uncertainties.

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Next week, imported and domestic supplies are expected to arrive. With the approaching delivery date, copper prices stabilized at highs, and the premium is expected to have further room to decline. However, deliverable supplies remain tight, and the discount is unlikely to widen below -50 yuan/mt.