Copper Prices Pulled Back with Increased Downstream Procurement, Overall Trading Slightly Better Than Last Friday [SMM South China Spot Copper]

Published: May 18, 2026 11:29

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SMM May 18 News:

Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot prices against the front-month contract today: high-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 260 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 180 yuan/mt, down 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; SX-EW copper was quoted at a premium of 110 yuan/mt, down 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 104,235 yuan/mt, down 1,515 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, and the average price of SX-EW copper was 104,160 yuan/mt, down 1,485 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Spot market: Guangdong inventory increased again today, as the wide Shanghai-Guangdong price spread led to more shipments flowing south from the north. Affected by this, some suppliers were eager to sell and actively lowered prices to move shipments, while some end-users also took the opportunity of the copper price pullback to replenish moderately. Overall trading activity was slightly better than last Friday. The purchasing sentiment for copper cathode in Guangdong today was 2.14, up 0.04 from the previous trading day, and the shipment sentiment was 2.45, down 0.06 from the previous trading day (historical data can be accessed via the database).

Overall, downstream purchasing increased as copper prices pulled back, and overall trading activity was slightly better than last Friday.

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.

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