High Copper Prices Combined with Wide Price Spread Between Futures Contracts, Market Transactions in Stalemate [SMM Shandong Copper Cathode Spot Weekly Review]

This week, spot premiums in Shandong moved lower throughout the week, with the average price reported at a discount of 130 yuan/mt as of Thursday. Copper prices shot up this week, while the price spread between futures contracts stayed high in a Back structure, leaving downstream enterprises with strong wait-and-see sentiment. Although suppliers proactively cut prices to sell, downstream acceptance remained low, and spot transactions fell into a stalemate during the week. Looking ahead to next week, high copper prices are expected to continue suppressing downstream demand, and spot prices are unlikely to recover. However, current social inventory is at a low level, and stronger restocking demand after the contract rollover will still provide support for spot prices, so the room for spot price pullback is expected to be limited.