Inventories Hit New Lows Again, Premiums Continue to Rise [SMM South China Spot Copper]

Published: Sep 4, 2026 11:35

Save

SMM, September 4:

Today in Guangdong, #1 copper cathode spot prices against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 340 yuan/mt, up 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 240 yuan/mt, up 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; SX-EW copper was quoted at a premium of 180 yuan/mt, up 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was 110,020 yuan/mt, up 575 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 109,910 yuan/mt, up 575 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Spot market: Guangdong inventory has declined for 14 consecutive trading days, hitting a new low for the year again. With inventory at less than 7 kt, suppliers actively held prices firm while selling, driving premiums steadily higher. Buyers could only watch and lament, forced to accept the high premiums, with overall trading activity being moderate. Today, the procurement sentiment for copper cathode in Guangdong was 2.74, up 0.12 from the previous trading day, while the shipment sentiment was 2.80, down 0.02 from the previous trading day (historical data can be accessed via the database).

Overall, inventory hit a new low again and premiums continued to rise. Attention should be paid to future arrivals.

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.

For any inquiries or for more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

55 mins ago

Sellers' willingness to sell rises alongside shipments; spot premiums in North China continue to pull back [SMM North China spot copper]

Spot copper in North China was quoted at a premium of 50-130 yuan/mt against the front-month contract, with an average premium of 90 yuan/mt, down 30 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average transaction price was 109,775 yuan/mt, up 575 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

55 mins ago

2 hours ago

Enamelled Wire Industry Sees 67.95% Operating Rate in August 2026, Down MoM but Up YoY

According to SMM, the overall operating rate of the enamelled wire industry in August 2026 was 67.95%, down 2.02 percentage points MoM and up 1.4 percentage points YoY. Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 71.87%, that of medium-sized enterprises was 56.95%, and that of small enterprises was 67.38%.

2 hours ago

3 hours ago

[Flash | Chile's July Imacec Falls 1.5% YoY, Steepest Monthly Drop Since 2022 as Mining Slumps 9.3%]

Chile's central bank reported on September 1 that the July Imacec economic activity index fell 1.5% year-on-year on an unadjusted basis. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the index fell 2.1% year-on-year and 1.7% month-on-month, marking the steepest monthly decline since 2022. The bank attributed the drop mainly to mining, which fell a significant 9.3%, primarily due to weather conditions, followed by lower ore grades and equipment maintenance that disrupted normal production operations. Many of the affected mines are copper-molybdenum associated deposits. Since molybdenum concentrate is recovered as a byproduct of the flotation process used to treat copper sulfide ore, the disruption to processing plants also curtailed molybdenum output.

3 hours ago