Will the throughput of secondary copper in East China Nonferrous Metals City decrease? [SMM Analysis]

According to SMM, from May 27 to May 31, the price of 1# copper cathode was 83,426 yuan/mt, down 1.85 percentage points WoW, and the price of bare bright copper in East China Nonferrous Metals City averaged 75,640 yuan/mt, down 0.64 percentage points WoW.

According to SMM data, copper prices showed a significant decline at the end of last week, with the 2407 contract falling to a low of 81,130 yuan/mt, causing some panic in the secondary copper market. As secondary copper had flooded into the spot market amid high copper prices, the supply of secondary copper decreased significantly in May. In addition, with the decline in copper prices, sellers held back cargoes, leading to a tight supply of secondary copper. Therefore, the purchase volume of secondary copper by traders in East China Nonferrous Metals City decreased. Due to the large fluctuations in copper prices, most secondary copper traders chose to maintain low inventory to reduce risks, even opting to sell early at a slight loss.

Looking ahead to this week, the center of copper cathode prices remained at the level of the end of last week, making it difficult to stimulate secondary copper sellers to release cargoes. According to traders in East China Nonferrous Metals City, the current supply of secondary copper remains tight, and most of the recently arrived secondary copper has been previously ordered. It is expected that the inflows of secondary copper in East China Nonferrous Metals City will continue to slightly decrease this week. However, the decline in copper prices has stimulated demand recovery to some extent, and secondary copper rod plants have increased their procurement, even willing to pay a premium. It is expected that traders in East China Nonferrous Metals City will continue to increase shipments. According to SMM, most traders in the Nonferrous Metals City have low levels of secondary copper inventory. In summary, it is expected that the throughput of secondary copper in East China Nonferrous Metals City will slightly increase this week driven by the rebound in demand.