Announcement on the correction of publishing date of SMM Copper Concentrate Index on 1st Jan, 2021 to 31st Dec, 2020

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Copper prices shifted lower during the session, with end-use consumption picking up slightly. According to SMM, downstream buyers mostly placed orders and completed transactions in the range of 105,000-105,500 yuan/mt, with trading conditions improving compared to yesterday. In terms of market structure, the inter-month Contango price spread between futures contracts narrowed slightly to 100-50 yuan/mt. Driven by delivery logic, suppliers strengthened their willingness to hold prices firm, pushing spot discounts to narrow. On the inventory front, SMM data showed that social inventory of copper cathode in Shanghai was recorded at 169,800 mt, down 6,900 mt from June 1, showing a slight destocking trend, mainly due to moderate consumption coupled with reduced arrivals. Overall, under the combined effects of demand stimulated by copper price pullbacks, price spread convergence between futures contracts supporting firm pricing, and destocking, spot prices against the SHFE copper 2606 contract are expected to see discounts narrow further tomorrow.

At the 2026 SMM Indonesia Critical Minerals Conference, SMM VP Shirley Wang noted that copper differs fundamentally from nickel — no single country controls pricing, and the global supply map continues to shift while most analytical models still rely on last decade's data. Recycled copper now accounts for nearly 40% of global supply, far above nickel's 22%, making secondary supply a key structural variable. To improve data quality, SMM has opened a ground-level office in Zambia to collect first-hand copper mining data rather than relying on satellite-derived estimates.

Copper prices surged this week, further intensifying end-user fear of high prices. The already weak terminal procurement continued to cool down, and spot copper transactions in the Shandong region were generally sluggish. After copper prices pulled back today, rigid demand saw a slight release, market trading only improved marginally, and overall market transactions continued to maintain a sluggish atmosphere.