Early Sharp Drop in Copper Prices Spurred Downstream Restocking, Spot Premiums Rose Sharply [SMM South China Spot Copper]

Published: Mar 9, 2026 11:30

Save

SMM News, March 9:

Today, Guangdong #1 copper cathode spot prices against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was quoted at 90 yuan/mt, up 60 yuan/mt; standard-quality copper was quoted at a discount of 110 yuan/mt, up 60 yuan/mt; SX-EW copper was quoted at a discount of 170 yuan/mt, up 60 yuan/mt. The average price of Guangdong #1 copper cathode was 99,425 yuan/mt, down 1,475 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 99,265 yuan/mt, down 1,475 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Spot market: After the weekend, Guangdong inventory did not continue to increase; instead, destocking occurred, mainly driven by higher warehouse withdrawals. Early in the session, copper prices fell sharply, boosting downstream buyers’ restocking enthusiasm. Suppliers proactively adjusted prices for shipments, and overall trading activity improved significantly. However, as copper prices stopped falling and rebounded, then surged sharply, restocking sentiment pulled back. Today, procurement sentiment for copper cathode in Guangdong was 2.75, up 0.13 from the previous trading day, while shipment sentiment was 3.24, up 0.23 from the previous trading day. (Historical data can be accessed by logging into the database.)

Overall, the sharp early-session drop in copper prices stimulated downstream restocking, spot premiums rose sharply, and overall trading was 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.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

33 mins ago

Rigid demand dominates consumption; copper social inventory continues destocking for five consecutive weeks [SMM Weekly Data]

33 mins ago

50 mins ago

High Copper Prices Suppress Consumption Expectations, Shanghai Spot Copper Premiums Under Pressure After Contract Rollover [SMM Shanghai Spot Copper]

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to tomorrow, from the perspective of supplier behavior, wait-and-see sentiment was strong in the early session, with notable divergence in offers; subsequently, some suppliers chose to offload inventory, mainly considering that downstream consumption expectations weakened after sustained copper price increases, upside room for spot premiums was limited, and willingness to liquidate holdings strengthened, driving the overall premiums center downward. Supply side, attention should be paid to the outflow of unmatched warrants after the contract rollover; if warrants are released in a concentrated manner, this will further suppress spot premiums. Inventory side, SMM recorded social inventory of 282,800 mt, down 17,000 mt from Monday, with the destocking pace showing a slowdown compared to the earlier period. Overall, under the combined effects of strengthened willingness to sell among suppliers and weakened consumption expectations, coupled with warrant outflows, spot prices against the 2605 contract are expected to see a slight decline in premiums tomorrow.

50 mins ago

1 hour ago

Peru's February Copper Production Up 2.9% YoY

Data released by Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines showed that Peru's copper production in February 2026 was 223,263 mt, up 2.9% YoY. Cumulative production from January to February totaled 449,519 mt, up 2.9% YoY.

1 hour ago