Copper Price Declines Boost Demand, Spot Premiums Rise for a Fifth Straight Session [SMM North China Spot Copper]

Published: Mar 9, 2026 11:12

Save

Today, spot prices of #1 copper cathode in North China against the front-month contract ranged from a discount of 180 yuan/mt to a discount of 80 yuan/mt. The average price increased by 60 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average transaction price of 99,395 yuan/mt decreased by 1,450 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

SMM News on March 9:

Today, in North China, spot #1 copper cathode prices against the front-month contract were at a discount of 180 yuan/mt to a discount of 80 yuan/mt. The average price rose by 60 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average transaction price of 99,395 yuan/mt fell by 1,450 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. As copper prices fell below the 100,000 yuan/mt threshold, market consumption demand was clearly boosted, market activity picked up, spot cargo in the north tightened, and spot premiums rose consecutively. Today, in North China, the procurement sentiment for copper cathode was 3.52, up 0.51 from the previous trading day, and the shipments sentiment was 2.94, up 0.49 from the previous trading day ().

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

5 mins ago

Post-Holiday Demand Continues to Recover; March Copper Plate/Sheet and Strip Operating Expectations Improve

According to SMM, the operating rate of the copper plate/sheet and strip industry was 41.98% in February 2026, down 28.04 percentage points MoM and down 14.49 percentage points YoY. Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 47.35%, that of medium-sized enterprises was 35.28%, and that of small enterprises was 31.80%.

5 mins ago

11 mins ago

Weekend Copper Inventory Buildup Narrowed in Major Domestic Regions [SMM Weekly Data]

11 mins ago

56 mins ago

Shanghai Spot Copper Discounts Expected to Narrow as Market Activity Picks Up

Looking ahead to tomorrow, with the delivery period approaching, spot discounts in Shanghai spot copper are expected to continue narrowing steadily. Intraday, and quotes in the second session were generally raised, with the transaction center moving up somewhat. From a market-driver perspective, the continued decline in copper prices has kept stimulating downstream willingness to buy the dip; both purchasing and selling sentiment rebounded, and order activity increased, providing support for spot cargo. On the supply side, domestic copper and previously price-locked imported cargo continued to arrive, and overall circulation was relatively ample, placing some constraints on the room for discount recovery. Overall, spot discounts are expected to maintain a steady upward trend tomorrow.

56 mins ago