Price spread between futures contracts continued to widen, downstream restocking appetite was subdued, and spot trades were sluggish [SMM South China Copper Spot]

Published: Aug 13, 2026 11:30

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SMM, August 13:

Today, Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot prices against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was quoted at a discount of 20 yuan/mt, down 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was quoted at a discount of 120 yuan/mt, down 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; and SX-EW copper was quoted at a discount of 200 yuan/mt, down 60 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average Guangdong #1 copper cathode price was 108,250 yuan/mt, down 160 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, and the average SX-EW copper price was 108,100 yuan/mt, down 200 yuan/mt.

Spot market: Guangdong inventories declined for two consecutive days, with fewer arrivals and slightly higher warehouse withdrawals. Today, the price spread between futures contracts widened further from yesterday to nearly 700 yuan/mt. With such a wide spread, downstream consumers purchased cautiously, and suppliers proactively cut prices to sell, causing premiums to keep falling. Even so, actual transactions remained very thin. Today, Guangdong copper cathode procurement sentiment was 2.21, down 0.03 from the previous trading day, and shipment sentiment was 3.03, down 0.04 from the previous trading day (historical data can be queried in the database).

Overall, the price spread between futures contracts continued to widen, downstream restocking appetite remained subdued, and spot trades were sluggish.

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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