Copper Cathode Rod Producers' Operating Rate Falls 8.45% WoW Amid High Prices and Holiday Wait-and-See Sentiment

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to next week, from the perspective of invoice structure, the shortage of invoices dated this month at the domestic trade port intensified intraday, with suppliers generally raising their offer prices for cargoes with invoices dated this month, pushing SHFE copper spot premiums from discounts to premiums. Meanwhile, the price spread between cargoes with invoices dated this month and cargoes with invoices dated next month widened further, reflecting the continued disruption of the periodic invoice shortage on spot pricing. Affected by this, some downstream enterprises preferred to purchase directly from smelters to secure the issuance of invoices dated this month. Demand side, copper prices remain at elevated levels, and downstream purchasing has generally become cautious, dominated by rigid demand with limited willingness to chase higher prices. In addition, the Labour Day holiday falls next week, and some downstream enterprises have pre-holiday stockpiling needs, which may lead to a certain increase in purchasing, providing periodic support for spot premiums. Overall, under the combined effects of a tight invoice structure, pre-holiday stockpiling expectations, and high prices suppressing demand, Shanghai spot copper prices against the SHFE copper 2605 contract are expected to maintain premiums next week.

On April 14,  an SMM team, compromised of Jianhua Ye, Industry Research Director, Chundi Feng, Expert at Industry Research Institute, and Jenny Wu, Copper & Tin Overseas Marketing Manager, paid a visit to NFC Africa Mining PLC. The delegation was warmly welcomed by Jingjun Wang, Chairman of NFC Africa Mining PLC and President of the Chinese Mining Enterprises Association in Zambia (CMEAZ).

Freeport-McMoRan lowered its 2026 copper output forecast due to slower recovery at its Grasberg mine, now expecting only 65% recovery, significantly reducing global supply expectations.