Weakening Market Demand Drove Down Spot Premiums [SMM North China Spot Copper]

Published: Apr 3, 2026 11:11

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Today, spot prices of North China #1 copper cathode against the front-month contract were reported at a discount of 160 yuan/mt to a discount of 100 yuan/mt, with the average price down 30 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, and the average transaction price up 135 yuan/mt from the previous trading day to 96,045 yuan/mt.

SMM News, Apr 3:

Today, spot prices of #1 copper cathode in North China were reported at discounts of 160-100 yuan/mt against the front-month contract, with the average price down 30 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average transaction price was 96,045 yuan/mt, up 135 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. As end-user cargo pick-up progress fell short of expectations, market demand slowed further, and spot premiums weakened, tending to return to normal price spread levels with other regions. Today, the copper cathode procurement sentiment in North China was 1.72, down 0.09 from the previous trading day, while shipment sentiment was 2.36, up 0.28 from the previous trading day ().

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