SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $13,489/mt, initially rising to $13,533.5/mt before the price center gradually shifted lower to $13,386/mt, ultimately closing at $13,427/mt, down 1.2%. Trading volume reached 20,000 lots, and open interest stood at 277,000 lots, a decrease of 6,463 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bulls reducing positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2606 contract opened at 104,130 yuan/mt, initially touching a high of 104,170 yuan/mt before the price center shifted lower to a low of 103,390 yuan/mt, ultimately moving sideways to close at 103,670 yuan/mt, down 0.82%. Trading volume reached 31,000 lots, and open interest stood at 143,000 lots, a decrease of 4,124 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bulls reducing positions.
May 20, 2026 09:24SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $13,477/mt, dipped to a low of $13,436/mt in early trading, then the price center gradually shifted upward to reach $13,625/mt, and finally moved sideways at high levels to close at $13,590/mt, up 0.34%, with trading volume at 24,000 lots and open interest at 283,000 lots, an increase of 2,099 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bulls adding positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2606 contract opened at 104,480 yuan/mt, touched a high of 104,840 yuan/mt in early trading, then the price center shifted slightly lower to a low of 104,440 yuan/mt, and finally moved sideways to close at 104,590 yuan/mt, up 0.28%, with trading volume at 30,000 lots and open interest at 154,000 lots, a decrease of 3,110 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bears reducing positions.
May 19, 2026 09:31Intraday SHFE copper prices edged down, effectively activating some downstream buying interest. According to SMM, orders at some downstream processing enterprises increased by approximately 30% compared to the previous trading day, with part of the transactions concentrated around 103,500 yuan/mt, indicating that current price levels still held certain appeal for end-users. Inventory side, SMM data showed that social inventory in the Shanghai region was recorded at 181,800 mt, down 2,800 mt WoW from last Thursday; inventory in the Jiangsu region was 38,100 mt, up slightly by 1,200 mt WoW from last Thursday. Overall, a mild destocking trend was observed, with inventory pressure easing marginally. Market performance side, supplier offers were basically stable, and the transaction center showed no significant downward shift. Overall, supported by demand release stimulated by copper price pullbacks and mild destocking, spot prices against the SHFE copper 2606 contract are expected to remain at a discount tomorrow, continuing a generally stable trend.
May 18, 2026 12:53[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Intraday SHFE copper prices edged down, effectively activating some downstream buying interest. According to SMM, orders from some downstream processing enterprises increased by approximately 30% compared to the previous trading day, with some transactions concentrated around 103,500 yuan/mt, indicating that current price levels still hold certain appeal for end-users. Inventory side, SMM data showed that social inventory in the Shanghai area registered 181,800 mt, down 2,800 mt WoW from last Thursday; inventory in the Jiangsu area was 38,100 mt, up slightly 1,200 mt WoW from last Thursday. Overall, a mild destocking trend was observed, with inventory pressure easing marginally. From market performance, suppliers' offers remained basically stable, and the transaction center showed no significant downward shift. Overall, supported by demand release stimulated by copper price pullbacks and mild destocking, spot prices against the SHFE copper 2606 contract are expected to remain at a discount tomorrow, continuing a generally stable trend.
May 18, 2026 11:52[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to next week, intraday SHFE copper prices declined, and downstream orders saw a slight increase in volume. However, the current copper prices remain less attractive to end-users, with the volume increase being insignificant as the high-price suppression effect persists. According to SMM, end-user enterprises mostly placed orders around 102,000-103,000 yuan/mt. Some downstream enterprises have opted to shut down furnaces for maintenance due to high copper prices, reflecting the notable suppression of actual demand at current price levels. After the contract rollover, the market will officially price around the 2606 contract, and close attention should be paid to the outflow of unmatched warrants. However, the current open interest of the SHFE copper 2605 contract stands at only 4,775 lots, with limited participation in delivery, so the concentrated release of warrants is expected to have relatively limited further pressure on spot discounts. Supported by delivery logic, Shanghai spot copper discounts did not see a significant decline. However, if copper prices remain at current highs, the demand side will struggle to improve effectively, and spot discounts may come under pressure. Overall, Shanghai spot copper prices against the 2606 contract are expected to remain at a discount next week.
May 15, 2026 15:07SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: Overnight, LME copper opened at $14,043/mt, touched a high of $14,077/mt in early trading, then the copper price center gradually shifted lower to probe $13,917.5/mt, followed by wild swings before finally closing at $13,986/mt, down 0.7%, with trading volume at 22,000 lots and open interest at 277,000 lots, an increase of 2,465 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bears reducing positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2606 contract opened at 107,250 yuan/mt, immediately touched a high of 107,320 yuan/mt in early trading, then the copper price center quickly shifted lower to probe 106,690 yuan/mt, followed by a rise amid wild swings before finally closing at 107,024 yuan/mt, down 0.35%, with trading volume at 39,000 lots and open interest at 184,000 lots, a decrease of 4,131 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bulls reducing positions.
May 15, 2026 09:23