Traders actively replenished inventory, stimulating a rise in premiums. Trading activity today was better than yesterday. [SMM South China Spot Copper]

Published: Feb 4, 2026 11:30

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SMM February 4:

Today, spot prices of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong against the front-month contract were at a discount of 260-60 yuan/mt, with an average discount of 160 yuan/mt, up 60 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. SX-EW copper was quoted at a discount of 330-290 yuan/mt, with an average discount of 310 yuan/mt, up 60 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was 104,640 yuan/mt, up 3,085 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 104,490 yuan/mt, up 3,085 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Spot market: Guangdong's inventory declined slightly today, mainly due to an increase in warehouse withdrawals. It was reported that copper prices stopped falling and rebounded, prompting downstream users to moderately increase procurement volume. In addition, the wide price spread between futures contracts encouraged some traders with lower funding costs to actively purchase spot cargo for post-holiday delivery, which was the main reason for the sharp rise in premiums. Today, procurement sentiment for copper cathode in Guangdong was 2.21, up 0.23 from the previous trading day, while sales sentiment was 3.09, down 0.4 from the previous trading day (historical data can be queried in the database). As of 11:00, high-quality copper against the front-month contract was quoted at a discount of 60 yuan/mt, standard-quality copper at a discount of 260 yuan/mt, and SX-EW copper at a discount of 310 yuan/mt.

Overall, active restocking by traders stimulated the rise in premiums, and trading activity today was better than yesterday.

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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