Spot Premiums Continue to Decline, Market Transactions Remain Sluggish and Quiet [SMM Shanghai Spot Copper]

Published: Dec 22, 2025 14:40

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[Shanghai spot copper] Tomorrow's spot premiums continue to recover. If the SHFE copper contango structure continues to widen, spot premiums will still decline.

SMM December 22:

Today, SMM's #1 copper cathode spot prices against the current month 2601 contract were quoted at a discount of 240-150 yuan/mt, with the average discount at 195 yuan/mt, down 35 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The SMM #1 copper cathode price range was 93,340-94,010 yuan/mt. In the morning, the SHFE copper 2601 contract fluctuated rangebound between 93,520-93,870 yuan/mt in the first session, then rose slightly to around 94,080 yuan/mt in the second session. The intermonth price spread was basically between C230-C180.

Intraday, suppliers' offers continued to decline compared to last Friday, while downstream purchase willingness was weak. In the morning session, suppliers quoted standard-quality copper at around a discount of 200 yuan/mt against the next-month contract, and high-quality copper at around a discount of 150 yuan/mt; subsequently, in the second session, prices quickly fell to a discount of 240 yuan/mt for standard-quality copper, while high-quality copper remained relatively stable at around a discount of 160 yuan/mt. SX-EW copper supply was tight and prices were high, with no significant decrease compared to last week.

Spot premiums are expected to recover tomorrow; however, if the SHFE copper contango structure continues to widen, spot premiums may still decline.

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.

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