[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] SHFE copper futures center shifted upward. Shanghai spot copper remained around 106,500 yuan/mt. End-user cargo pick-up speed slowed down. Some copper semis processing enterprises in east China planned to shut down furnaces and cut production due to the buildup of finished product inventories.

Overnight, LME copper opened at $13,954.5/mt, dipping to a low of $13,941/mt in early trading before the price center rose, reaching a high of $14,056/mt and ultimately closing at $13,983.5/mt, up 0.75%. Trading volume came in at 22,000 lots, and open interest stood at 273,000 lots, down 242 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bears reducing positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2607 contract opened at 106,720 yuan/mt, immediately dipping to a low of 106,660 yuan/mt before the price center shifted upward, touching a high of 107,420 yuan/mt. It ultimately fluctuated at highs and closed at 107,100 yuan/mt, up 0.45%. Trading volume came in at 50,000 lots, and open interest stood at 191,000 lots, down 420 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bears reducing positions.

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, said on Tuesday that it has initiated a planned 60-day shutdown maintenance of its Nchanga smelter in Zambia. KCM said the maintenance aims to improve operational efficiency, equipment reliability, and long-term production performance. According to data from Zambia's Ministry of Mines, the company's copper production in 2025 was 80,215 mt. The planned shutdown is part of the company's broader modernization strategy, aimed at advancing its capacity toward the target of 300,000 mt per year by 2030. This aligns with Zambia's national goal of increasing total copper production from 890,346 mt in 2025 to 3 million mt by 2031. The Nchanga smelter shutdown means that from June to mid-September, Zambia's three major processing plants — Mopani smelter, Chambishi smelter, and Nchanga smelter — will undergo prolonged shutdown maintenance in succession. Against the backdrop of the Iran war already disrupting global supply of sulphuric acid, a critical raw material for copper and cobalt processing, this could further tighten copper and sulphuric acid output. KCM said that during the shutdown, sulphuric acid supply for the Nchanga tailings leach plant will be secured through external procurement and its own acid plant with a daily capacity of 500 mt. (Wenhua Consolidated)

Vedanta Resources’ Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has commenced a 60-day maintenance shutdown aimed at improving operational reliability across its mining and processing facilities and supporting future production growth. The company stated that the maintenance program covers key mining, processing, and supporting infrastructure assets and represents an important step in the mine’s ongoing operational recovery. Vedanta has previously committed to investing more than US$1 billion in KCM over the next five years to restore and expand production capacity. As one of Zambia’s major copper producers, Vedanta aims to increase KCM’s annual copper output to more than 300,000 tonnes in the coming years.

【SMM Steel】Taiwan's CSC is advising downstream customers to submit orders early for production planning as multiple facilities begin scheduled maintenance starting June. The schedule includes a 15-day shutdown at wire rod mill No.2 from June 26 to July 10, and a 24-day maintenance at the billet factory from June 11 to July 4. Bar mill No.2 will assist with rolling during the wire rod shutdown, and billets needed for deliveries before mid-July are already prepared. This marks CSC's third consecutive year of summer intensive maintenance to prepare capacity for H2 auto and construction demand.

During the survey period (May 26–June 1), the rebar rolling line operating rate in the Central China region remained stable, while the capacity utilization rate edged up.