Price Spread Between Futures Contracts Widened Rapidly, Transactions Fell to Freezing Point[SMM Shandong Spot Copper Cathode Weekly Review]

Published: Aug 14, 2026 13:21

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Spot premiums for copper cathode in Shandong fell throughout this week and were quoted at a discount of 420 yuan/mt as of this Thursday. Copper prices stayed high and end-use demand was sluggish overall. Coupled with the rapid widening of the price spread between near-delivery futures contracts, downstream purchase willingness fell to a freezing point. Looking ahead to next week, the market is expected to enter the delivery and contract rollover stage. As the pricing benchmark gradually shifts to the 2609 contract, spot premiums are expected to recover noticeably; however, downstream demand will remain constrained by high copper prices, and the improvement in market trading will be limited.

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