SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $12,016.5/mt. After dipping to $11,955.5/mt in early trading, its center rose sharply to a high of $12,160/mt, and then continued to hover at highs, finally closing at $12,092.5/mt, down 1.05%. Trading volume reached 23,000 lots, open interest stood at 293,000 lots, up 406 lots from the previous trading day, mainly reflecting increased short positions overall. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2605 contract opened at 93,600 yuan/mt and touched a low of 93,480 yuan/mt at the open. Its center then moved higher to a high of 94,990 yuan/mt, after which copper prices maintained a fluctuating trend at highs, finally closing at 94,670 yuan/mt, up 0.17%. Trading volume reached 51,000 lots, open interest stood at 198,000 lots, down 533 lots from the previous trading day, mainly reflecting reduced short positions throughout the day.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $11,816/mt. After dipping to $11,798/mt in early trading, its center rose sharply to a high of $12,395/mt, then hovered at highs, and finally closed at $12,221/mt, up 3.27%. Trading volume reached 52,000 lots, and open interest stood at 292,000 lots, down 944 lots from the previous trading day, mainly reflecting bears cutting positions overall. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2605 contract opened at 95,010 yuan/mt. After the opening, its center moved higher to a high of 95,900 yuan/mt, after which copper prices maintained a fluctuating trend at highs. Near the close, it dipped to 94,530 yuan/mt and finally closed at 93,840 yuan/mt, up 2.12%. Trading volume reached 120,000 lots, and open interest stood at 198,000 lots, down 6,741 lots from the previous trading day, mainly reflecting bears cutting positions throughout the day.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) has begun the environmental permitting process for a $7.5 billion expansion of its majority owned El Abra copper mine in ChileThe project, owned 51% by Freeport and 49% by state-owned Codelco, is the largest mining investment submitted to Chile’s Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) since at least 1992. The plan includes a new concentrator, a desalination plant, a water pumping system, expanded mine infrastructure and continued leaching. Production is expected to begin in 2033 if regulators approve the project, Diario Financiero reported.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $12,751/mt and dipped to $12,743/mt at the start of the session. Thereafter, the center of copper prices gradually moved higher and, near the close, touched a high of $12,940/mt, before finally closing at $12,918.5/mt, up 1.44. Trading volume reached 19,700 lots, and open interest stood at 302,000 lots, down 5,166 lots from the previous trading day, mainly due to bears reducing positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2604 contract opened at 100,020 yuan/mt and hit a low of 99,820 yuan/mt at the start of the session. It then fluctuated upward to 100,420 yuan/mt, followed by wide swings, and finally closed at 100,190 yuan/mt, up 0.58. Trading volume reached 274,000 lots, and open interest stood at 190,000 lots, down 3,315 lots from the previous trading day, mainly due to bears reducing positions.

[SMM Analysis:Overview of Q4 Copper Production of the Top 20 Global Mining Companies in 2025] According to SMM statistics, copper production by the world's top 20 mining companies in the fourth quarter of 2025 stood at 3,526 kt, a 2.1% increase quarter-on-quarter but a 10.5% decrease year-on-year.

Today, the most-traded BC copper 2603 contract opened at 92,420 yuan/mt, hit an intraday high of 92,420 yuan/mt at the beginning of the session, then fluctuated downward with its center touching a low of 90,440 yuan/mt. Copper prices later maintained a sideways fluctuating trend, finally closing at 90,840 yuan/mt, up 0.43%. Open interest fell to 3,481 lots, down 1,004 lots from the previous trading day, while trading volume rose to 6,479 lots, up 3,066 lots from the previous trading day. On the macro front, US non-farm payrolls added 130,000 in January, and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.3%, both figures beating expectations, cooling market expectations for interest rate cuts. US Fed officials struck a hawkish tone, favoring maintaining restrictive interest rates, while Trump continued to pressure the Fed. Armed attacks in Papua, Indonesia targeted a Freeport company convoy, resulting in 1 death and 2 injuries, raising safety risks at the mine. On the fundamentals side, supply side, due to earlier import arbitrage windows opening, locked price ratio cargoes continued to arrive, keeping supply loose. Demand side, as the holiday approaches, downstream enterprises have generally started holidays, leading to continuously weakening procurement demand. Inventory side, as of Thursday, February 12, SMM nationwide copper inventories in mainstream areas increased 5.3% WoW, with total inventories up 27,400 mt YoY. SHFE copper 2603 contract closed at 102,330 yuan/mt. Based on the BC copper 2603 contract price of 90,840 yuan/mt, its post-tax price is 102,649 yuan/mt, resulting in a price spread of -319 between SHFE copper 2603 and BC copper. The spread remained inverted and narrowed compared to the previous day.