China's May 2026 Copper Concentrate Imports Up 0.40% MoM, Down 1.73% YoY

According to SMM, in May, constrained by multiple factors such as the Labour Day holiday disruption, weak demand from home appliances, and copper prices fluctuating at highs, the operating rate of the enamelled wire industry pulled back 3 percentage points MoM. Currently, structural divergence on the demand side continues. Rigid demand from the new energy and power sectors remains steady, providing bottom support for the industry. However, the home appliance sector remains persistently weak, traditional end-user segments lack incremental rigid demand, and downstream end-users are highly sensitive to copper prices. Copper price fluctuations suppress purchase willingness, further dragging on order growth.

According to SMM, the comprehensive operating rate of the enamelled wire industry in May was 72.32%, down 3.00 percentage points MoM but up a marginal 0.06 percentage points YoY. Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 77.24%, medium-sized enterprises was 59.65%, and small enterprises was 68.78%.

[SMM Shanghai spot copper] Looking ahead to tomorrow, approaching delivery, the C-month price spread holds between 70 yuan/mt and -20 yuan/mt, with suppliers, bullish on near-term premiums, holding back from selling. In addition, SMM understands that some enterprises have exported spot cargoes to bonded warehouses, tightening available supply. Moreover, the import window remains closed, limiting the inflow of ex-China cargoes. Overall, supported by consumption demand and delivery-related dynamics, the discount of Shanghai spot copper against the SHFE 2606 contract is expected to continue narrowing tomorrow, with some brands likely to remain at parity or a slight premium.