SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $12,286.5/mt and fluctuated downward in early trading to a low of $12,212/mt. Copper prices then fluctuated upward, with the center moving up to $12,408/mt, before falling back again to finally close at $12,348.5/mt, down 0.99%. Trading volume reached 20,000 lots, and open interest stood at 295,000 lots, an increase of 3,702 lots from the previous trading day. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2605 contract opened at 95,660 yuan/mt and dipped to 95,300 yuan/mt in early trading. Copper prices then fluctuated upward, with the center moving up to a high of 96,680 yuan/mt, before fluctuating downward to finally close at 96,150 yuan/mt, down 0.08%. Trading volume reached 36,500 lots, and open interest stood at 181,000 lots, a decrease of 1,608 lots from the previous trading day, mainly due to bulls reducing positions.

According to SMM statistics, on April 8, the aluminum ingot inventory in Guangdong was 257,000 mt; in Wuxi, it was 260,000 mt; and in Gongyi, it was 118,800 mt. The total inventory in these three locations was 635,800 mt, a decrease of 7,200 mt compared to the previous trading day. SMM predicts that in the first half of April, despite a slight inventory buildup on the first day after the Qingming holiday, the domestic aluminum ingot inventory will likely continue the destocking trend, possibly pulling back to around 700,000-750,000 mt by mid-April.

[SMM Analysis: Finished Product Inventories of Copper Foil Declined in March, While Industry Operating Rates Continued to Rise]According to SMM, the operating rate of copper foil enterprises in March 2025 was 71.82%, up 4.17 percentage points MoM and 11.38 percentage points YoY. Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 75.20%, medium-sized enterprises was 55.35%, and small enterprises was 70.18%...

Global markets experienced a "Black Monday" yesterday, as concerns over trade frictions on the macro front and expectations of monetary tightening intertwined, coupled with the risk of slowing industrial demand, exerting downward pressure on aluminum prices. On one hand, Trump's insistence on reciprocal tariffs and rejection of the EU's proposal for mutual tariff exemptions have heightened global trade uncertainty. If the US further imposes tariffs on aluminum products, it will directly suppress export demand and increase trade costs. Domestically, despite a slight inventory buildup of aluminum ingots during the Qingming holiday (+9,000 mt), the overall destocking trend in the first half of April remained unchanged (down 26,000 mt MoM), reflecting a gradual recovery in downstream demand and manageable supply-side pressure.

According to SMM statistics, the inventory of aluminum ingots in mainstream consumption areas in China stood at 774,000 mt on April 7, an increase of 9,000 mt compared to before the Qingming holiday (last Thursday), but a decrease of 26,000 mt WoW from last Monday. SMM believes that the three-day Qingming holiday led to a concentrated arrival of goods in mainstream consumption areas, resulting in an inventory buildup of 9,000 mt. However, the overall destocking trend of domestic aluminum ingot inventory in the first half of April remains unchanged.

【SMM Steel】On April 7, the early morning import iron ore prices dropped by 20 compared to pre-holiday levels. At Shandong ports, PB fines were around 760-770 yuan/mt, super special fines were 620-630 yuan/mt, and IOCJ fines were around 860-870 yuan/mt. At Tangshan ports, PB fines were 770-780 yuan/mt, and super special fines were around 620-630 yuan/mt (pricing unit: yuan/wmt). During the Qingming holiday, Singapore swaps experienced a significant decline, and after the domestic futures market opened today, prices followed the downward trend. The market was mostly in a wait-and-see mode, with no immediate offers. SMM learned that some traders sold PB fines to factories at Shandong ports for 768 yuan/mt. For more details, please visit the SMM website for free at https://steel.smm.cn/content/090/103263532.