Peru Approved Southern Copper's Restart of Copper Mine Project, LME Copper and SHFE Copper Both Closed Higher Overnight [SMM Copper Morning Meeting Minutes]

2026.4.20 Monday
Futures: Last Friday evening, LME copper opened at $13,246.5/mt, touched a low of $13,205/mt early in the session before the center fluctuated upward, reached a high of $13,380/mt and then moved sideways at high levels, ultimately closing at $13,349/mt, up 0.81%. Trading volume reached 20,000 lots, and open interest stood at 280,000 lots, down 6,199 lots from the previous trading day, indicating leading position reduction. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2606 contract opened at 102,700 yuan/mt, quickly rose to 103,040 yuan/mt early in the session, then the copper price center dropped sharply to 101,830 yuan/mt before fluctuating upward to ultimately close at 102,910 yuan/mt, up 0.57%. Trading volume reached 64,000 lots, and open interest stood at 185,000 lots, up 8,528 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bullish position building.
[SMM Copper Morning Meeting Summary] News:
(1) On April 19 (Sunday), Peruvian government officials, citing a related resolution, said the government had approved Southern Copper's resumption of mining operations at its Tía María copper mine project, one of the most anticipated projects in the Andean nation's mining sector. The resolution was approved on Friday by a committee of Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines. The resolution stated that the project was authorized to resume development activities after Southern Copper met the requirements. The copper mine project involves an investment of approximately $1.8 billion. Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines had previously revoked the project's startup permit to strengthen the "robustness of the process" of the project's development. The project is located in southern Peru.
Spot:
(1) Shanghai: On the morning of April 17, the SHFE copper 2605 contract opened lower with a gap and continued to decline before stabilizing and rebounding. The opening price was 102,270 yuan/mt. After opening, the price gapped lower and continued to fall, hitting a low of 101,610 yuan/mt. After stabilizing, the price rebounded, rising to 102,140 yuan/mt, before declining again to 101,960 yuan/mt. By the close, the price had risen somewhat, with a closing price of 102,190 yuan/mt. The inter-month Contango price spread between futures contracts ranged from 80 yuan/mt to 50 yuan/mt. The SHFE copper import profit margin against the 2605 contract for the current month ranged from a loss of 320 yuan/mt to 260 yuan/mt. Looking ahead, on the supply side, some delivery warrants have begun to flow out during the day, putting pressure on spot premiums. Market concerns over the concentrated release of warrants going forward persist, and suppliers showed a strong willingness to sell, putting Shanghai spot copper premiums under pressure. On the demand side, the slight correction in copper prices led downstream procurement to focus on rigid demand, with limited willingness to chase higher prices. In addition, the spot premium price spread between Shanghai and Guangdong continued to rise to around 150 yuan/mt during the day. The strong premiums in Guangdong are expected to provide some support to Shanghai market sentiment, but it is difficult to reverse the overall weak supply-demand pattern in the short term. Overall, Shanghai spot copper quotes against the 2605 contract are expected to remain at current levels today.
(2) Guangdong: On April 17, Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot prices against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was quoted at 250 yuan/mt, up 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 170 yuan/mt, up 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; SX-EW copper was quoted at a premium of 110 yuan/mt, up 30 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 102,040 yuan/mt, down 505 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; the average price of SX-EW copper was 102,455 yuan/mt, down 350 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Overall, with inventory about to fall below 20,000 mt, suppliers actively held prices firm, pushing premiums higher, while downstream restocking willingness was moderate.
(3) Imported copper: On April 17, the average warrant price was flat from the previous trading day at $69/mt (price range $64-74/mt); the average B/L price was flat from the previous trading day at $67/mt (price range $62-72/mt); the average EQ copper (CIF B/L) price was flat from the previous trading day at $37/mt (price range $32-42/mt), with quotes referencing cargoes arriving from late April to early-to-mid May.
(4) Secondary copper: On April 17 at 11:30, the futures closing price was 102,190 yuan/mt, down 110 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average spot premium was 30 yuan/mt, down 15 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. On April 17, copper scrap prices fell 400 yuan/mt MoM, the copper scrap sales sentiment index dropped to 2.71, and the procurement sentiment index rose to 2.3. The price difference between copper cathode and copper scrap was 1,442 yuan/mt, up 319 yuan/mt MoM. The price difference between copper cathode rod and secondary copper rod was 1,680 yuan/mt. According to an SMM survey, as copper prices weakened, many copper scrap suppliers reduced shipments, partly because downstream clients were constrained by bill payment restrictions that affected procurement volume, causing inventory to accumulate among some copper scrap traders.
Prices: On the macro front, Iran's foreign minister announced that commercial ships could pass through the Strait of Hormuz, boosting market optimism. However, Trump's optimistic signals about a second round of US-Iran talks were refuted by Iran, and the market remained largely cautious and on the sidelines, with copper prices moving sideways. On the fundamentals side, supply side, imported copper maintained the previous arrival pace, while domestic copper arrivals were relatively low; demand side, downstream enterprises mainly made just-in-time procurement and restocked as needed. Overall, copper prices are expected to stay high and maintain a fluctuating trend within a narrow range today.
[The information provided is for reference only. This article does not constitute direct advice for investment research decisions. Clients should make prudent decisions and not use this as a substitute for independent judgment. Any decisions made by clients are not related to SMM.]