Pre-Holiday Restocking Was Basically Completed, Suppliers Struggled to Hold Prices Firm, and Spot Trades Were Weaker Than Yesterday [SMM South China Spot Copper]

Published: Apr 3, 2026 11:47

SMM News, April 2:

Today in Guangdong, spot prices for #1 copper cathode against the front-month contract were reported at a premium of 210 yuan/mt for high-quality copper, up 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; a premium of 120 yuan/mt for standard-quality copper, up 10 yuan/mt from yesterday; and a premium of 60 yuan/mt for SX-EW copper, up 10 yuan/mt from yesterday. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 96,290 yuan/mt, down 75 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 96,185 yuan/mt, down 75 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Spot market: Guangdong inventory continued to decline and has now fallen for 14 consecutive sessions, mainly due to reduced arrivals and relatively high warehouse withdrawals. As most downstream buyers had already completed restocking yesterday, the volume of continued restocking today was limited. Suppliers struggled to hold prices firm, with quotes only edging up 10 yuan/mt from yesterday. Today, copper cathode procurement sentiment in Guangdong was 2.5, down 0.02 from the previous trading day, while shipments sentiment was 3.74, up 0.06 from the previous trading day (historical data is available in the database).

Overall, pre-holiday restocking was basically completed, suppliers struggled to hold prices firm, and spot trades were not as active as 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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