Overnight copper prices edged down, bulls cut positions; spot supply tightened, and the discount continued to narrow [SMM Copper Morning Meeting Minutes]

Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Futures: Overnight LME copper opened at $13,767.5/mt, fluctuated upward to touch $13,813/mt in early trading, then saw its price center gradually shift lower to test $13,518/mt, and finally settled at $13,559.5/mt, down 0.23%. Trading volume reached 23,000 lots and open interest stood at 266,000 lots, down 5,003 lots from the previous trading day, mainly reflecting long liquidation. The most-traded SHFE copper 2607 contract opened at 105,210 yuan/mt overnight, touched a session high of 105,670 yuan/mt right after the open, then saw its price center continue to shift lower, testing 103,660 yuan/mt near the close, down 0.34%. Trading volume reached 62,600 lots and open interest stood at 161,000 lots, down 44 lots from the previous trading day, reflecting long liquidation.
[SMM Copper Morning Call] News:
(1) Miningnews.net reported that Chalice announced the “exceptional” copper-rare earth target at its Gonneville project near Perth, Western Australia, has yet to be drill-tested. The target, named Deep Blue, is located 15 km southeast of the Caravel copper deposit near the town of Goomalling, WA, with a copper-molybdenum-silver soil anomaly roughly 2.5 km long. Rock chip sampling returned high-grade ore, with total rare earth oxide grades reaching as high as 15%. In the coming weeks, the company will commence reverse circulation drilling and expects to complete around 10 holes.
Spot:
(1) Shanghai: On the morning of June 9, the SHFE copper 2606 contract opened lower with a gap, then rose before falling again. It opened at 104,680 yuan/mt, quickly declined to test 103,960 yuan/mt, then stabilized and started to rise, mostly trading between 104,050–104,290 yuan/mt. Near the close, prices pulled back slightly, settling at 103,930 yuan/mt. The nearby contango spread was between 70 yuan/mt and 20 yuan/mt. The front-month import profit margin for SHFE copper against the 2606 contract ranged from a loss of 580 yuan/mt to a loss of 460 yuan/mt. Looking ahead to today, with physical delivery approaching, the nearby contango spread is holding at 70–20 yuan/mt. Suppliers are optimistic about near-term premiums and are holding back from selling. SMM also notes some enterprises have exported spot cargoes to bonded warehouses, tightening available supply further. Imports remain closed, limiting inflow from outside China. In summary, with support from both consumption and delivery dynamics, quotes for Shanghai spot copper against the SHFE copper 2606 contract are expected to see further narrowing of discounts today, with some brands potentially holding at parity or shifting to small premiums.
(2) Guangdong: On June 9, Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot against the front-month contract: high-quality copper quoted at 110 yuan/mt, up 50 yuan/mt day over day; standard-quality copper quoted at a premium of 70 yuan/mt, up 80 yuan/mt; SX-EW copper quoted at a premium of 10 yuan/mt, up 70 yuan/mt. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 104,275 yuan/mt, up 330 yuan/mt day over day, and the average SX-EW copper price was 104,195 yuan/mt, up 335 yuan/mt. Overall, with inventories continuing to trend lower, suppliers actively held prices firm when selling, driving spot premiums substantially higher.
(3) Imported copper: On June 9, the average warrant price was flat compared to the previous trading day at $64/mt (price range $60-68/mt); the average B/L price was flat at $65/mt (price range $61-69/mt); the average price for EQ copper (CIF B/L) was flat at $33/mt (price range $28-38/mt), quoting for arrivals in mid- to late June and early July.
(4) Secondary copper: On June 9, at 11:30, the futures closing price was 103,930 yuan/mt, down 220 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums averaged 5 yuan/mt, up 15 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Today, copper scrap prices rose 100 yuan/mt MoM. The sentiment index for selling copper scrap dropped to 2.55, while the purchasing sentiment index rose to 2.35. The price difference between copper cathode and copper scrap stood at 1,644 yuan/mt, down 317 yuan/mt MoM. The price difference between copper cathode rod and secondary copper rod was 690 yuan/mt. According to SMM survey, after copper prices pulled back, many secondary copper rod enterprises sought to buy the dip, but as copper scrap suppliers showed low willingness to sell, secondary copper rod enterprises could only purchase small amounts of copper scrap, and overall market transactions were moderate during the day.
Prices: On the macro front, the US military launched a warning strike on Iran’s air defense systems, and Iran vowed a resolute response, causing copper prices to surge and then pull back. Trump downplayed the incident—by count, he has claimed 37 times that a US-Iran deal is about to be reached; Vice President Vance also expects a deal to be finalized before the midterm elections. Meanwhile, US job growth slowed for the third consecutive week, with the private sector adding an average of only 29,000 jobs per week in the four weeks ended May 23. On the fundamentals front, supply side, available supply continued to tighten, suppliers held prices firm and held back from selling, low-priced cargoes were hard to find, and SX-EW copper was particularly scarce. Demand side, after copper prices stabilized, downstream wait-and-see sentiment was strong, with only essential demand being released. Overall, copper prices were expected to maintain a fluctuating upward trend today.
[The information provided is for reference only and does not constitute direct investment research advice. Clients should make decisions prudently and not use this as a substitute for independent judgment. Any decisions made by clients are not associated with SMM.]