On the delivery day, copper prices pulled back, yet the boost to downstream demand was limited [SMM North China Spot Copper]

Published: Jan 15, 2026 11:31

Save

In North China today, spot prices of #1 copper cathode against the front-month contract were at a discount of 300-100 yuan/mt, with an average discount of 200 yuan/mt, up 120 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Transaction prices ranged from 101,800 to 102,580 yuan/mt, with an average of 102,190 yuan/mt, down 1,265 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

SMM Jan. 15:

In North China today, spot prices of #1 copper cathode against the front-month contract were at a discount of 300-100 yuan/mt, with the average discount at 200 yuan/mt, up 120 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Transaction prices were 101,800-102,580 yuan/mt, and the average price was 102,190 yuan/mt, down 1,265 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. According to the SMM price assessment methodology, prices were quoted against the front-month contract today. On the delivery day, the market generally quoted against the next-month contract at a discount below 300 yuan/mt. Although copper prices pulled back, downstream demand saw very limited improvement. In North China today, the procurement sentiment for copper cathode was 1.25, up 0.12 from the previous trading day, while the sales sentiment was 1.42, down 0.02 from the previous trading day ().

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

2 hours ago

The most-traded BC copper contract closed up 0.43%, with trading activity sluggish as the Chinese New Year holiday approaches. [SMM BC Copper Review]

2 hours ago

3 hours ago

Pre-Holiday Copper Cathode Inventory Buildup Hits Four-Year Low as Supply Tightens and Demand Shows Resilience

【SMM Analysis: Pre-Holiday Copper Cathode Inventory Buildup Hits Four-Year Low, Supply Tightens, Demand Shows Resilience】Ahead of the Chinese New Year this year, the copper cathode inventory buildup process slowed down significantly......

3 hours ago

Chinese New Year Holiday Approaches, Brass Billet Operating Rate Pulls Back MoM

[SMM Brass Billet Express] This week (February 6–February 12), the operating rate of the brass billet industry fell 6.09 percentage points MoM to 40.31%, and production activity pulled back. As the Chinese New Year holiday approached, new orders from downstream sectors cooled significantly, and enterprise production pace continued to slow down. The industry will fully enter holiday mode next week, and the operating rate is expected to drop to 0%. Attention will be paid to post-holiday work resumption and demand recovery.

3 hours ago