Under Inventory Pressure, C Month Spread Widens, SHFE Copper Spot Continues Under Pressure [SMM Shanghai Spot Copper]

Today, SMM's #1 copper cathode spot prices against the current month 2602 contract were quoted at a discount of 310-220 yuan/mt, with the average discount at 265 yuan/mt, down 35 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The SMM #1 copper cathode price ranged from 101,140 to 101,600 yuan/mt. In the morning session, the SHFE copper 2602 contract opened lower with a gap and trended downward with fluctuations. It opened with a quick gap-down and decline, then rebounded slightly briefly before weakening again and falling to a low of 101,610 yuan/mt. It then fluctuated between 101,860 and 102,200 yuan/mt, closing at 101,880 yuan/mt. The contango spread between nearby months ranged from 340 to 270 yuan/mt, while the import loss for the current month's SHFE copper contract was between 610-730 yuan/mt.

At the beginning of the morning session, suppliers offered Guixi and Jinchuan (plate) at a discount of 220-150 yuan/mt; standard-quality copper was quoted at a discount of 300-240 yuan/mt. Among these, Zhongtiaoshan, Yuguang, and Jintong Yusheng started to trade at a discount of 300-280 yuan/mt, while Xiangguang, Lufang, and JCC were quoted at a discount of 240 yuan/mt. Registered SX-EW copper supply was tight, so it traded at a discount of 350-330 yuan/mt. Entering the second session, suppliers lowered prices for some supplies, with Zhongtiaoshan, Zhongjin, Jintong Yusheng, and Yuguang trading at a discount of 330-280 yuan/mt.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, the widening contango spread between nearby months continues to strengthen suppliers' willingness to ship to delivery warehouses, and combined with current inventory pressure, both factors suppress the spot market, leading to insufficient momentum for discount narrowing. Although downstream buyers are buying the dip, it remains difficult to reverse the overall discount structure. Spot discounts are expected to remain under pressure.