SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: Overnight, LME copper opened at $13,240.5/mt, fluctuated upward to a high of $13,295/mt in early trading, then the copper price center dropped sharply to $13,182.5/mt, followed by wild swings, and finally closed at $13,242/mt, down 0.26%, with trading volume at 17,000 lots and open interest at 287,000 lots, a decrease of 2,451 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bulls reducing positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2606 contract opened at 102,350 yuan/mt, rose to 102,510 yuan/mt in early trading, then the copper price center dropped sharply to 101,700 yuan/mt, before fluctuating upward to finally close at 102,290 yuan/mt, down 0.09%, with trading volume at 28,500 lots and open interest at 174,000 lots, an increase of 820 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bears adding positions.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $12,865/mt, dipping to $12,859/mt early in the session. The price center then gradually shifted upward in a volatile manner, touching a high of $13,133/mt near the end of the session, and ultimately closed at $13,123.5/mt, up 2.07%, with trading volume at 27,000 lots and open interest at 292,000 lots, down 1,540 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bears reducing positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2605 contract opened at 99,760 yuan/mt, touching a low of 99,520 yuan/mt early in the session. Copper prices then gradually shifted upward, reaching 100,940 yuan/mt, before moving sideways and ultimately closing at 100,820 yuan/mt, up 1.67%, with trading volume at 50,000 lots and open interest at 170,000 lots, down 1,518 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bears reducing positions.

SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: Last Friday evening, LME copper opened at $12,744/mt, dipping to $12,642/mt early in the session. The price center then fluctuated upward to a high of $12,928/mt before fluctuating downward to finally close at $12,857/mt, up 1.27%, with trading volume at 22,000 lots and open interest at 293,000 lots, down 4,028 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bears reducing positions. Last Friday evening, the most-traded SHFE copper 2605 contract opened at 99,200 yuan/mt, fluctuated upward early in the session to reach 99,750 yuan/mt, then the price center gradually shifted lower to a low of 99,090 yuan/mt, followed by wild swings before finally closing at 99,310 yuan/mt, up 1.04%, with trading volume at 45,000 lots and open interest at 171,700 lots, down 2,724 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bears reducing positions.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $12,579.5/mt, touching a low of $12,536.5/mt early in the session. Copper prices then shifted higher, reaching a high of $12,712/mt before ultimately closing at $12,695.5/mt, down 0.27%, with trading volume at 18,000 lots and open interest at 297,000 lots, an increase of 3,404 lots from the previous trading day, mainly driven by bears adding positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2605 contract opened at 98,080 yuan/mt, touching a high of 97,820 yuan/mt early in the session and a low of 97,720 yuan/mt early in the session. Copper prices then shifted higher, reaching a high of 98,260 yuan/mt before ultimately closing at 98,070 yuan/mt, up 0.27%, with trading volume at 22,000 lots and open interest at 174,000 lots, a decrease of 1,255 lots from the previous trading day, mainly driven by bears reducing positions.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $12,264.5/mt. After testing a low of $12,282.5/mt in early trading, its center fluctuated downward, nearing the close and hitting a low of $12,079/mt, before finally closing at $12,120/mt, down 1.33. Trading volume reached 18,000 lots, open interest stood at 296,000 lots, an increase of 326 lots from the previous trading day, mainly reflecting bears adding positions overall. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2605 contract opened at 95,350 yuan/mt, tested a low of 95,900 yuan/mt in early trading, and then its center moved lower to a low of 94,950 yuan/mt, before finally closing at 95,150 yuan/mt, down 0.45. Trading volume reached 39,000 lots, open interest stood at 188,000 lots, a decrease of 2,104 lots from the previous trading day, mainly reflecting bulls reducing positions overall.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $12,724.5/mt. In early trading, it fluctuated upward to a high of $12,829.5/mt, after which the center of copper prices shifted straight downward to a low of $12,721/mt. It then fluctuated upward in a pullback and finally closed at $12,780/mt, down 1.07%. Trading volume reached 17,000 lots, and open interest stood at 293,000 lots, down 8,255 lots from the previous trading day, mainly due to longs reducing positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2604 contract opened at 99,120 yuan/mt. In early trading, it rose to 99,530 yuan/mt, then fluctuated downward all the way to a low of 98,900 yuan/mt. Afterwards, the center of copper prices moved upward and finally closed at 99,140 yuan/mt, down 0.92%. Trading volume reached 27,700 lots, and open interest stood at 177,000 lots, down 1,993 lots from the previous trading day, mainly due to longs reducing positions.

In early February, the rhenium market showed a diverging trend of cooling trading activity alongside rising prices. Affected by a mix of factors, supply-demand dynamics in the market have become increasingly competitive, market participants have grown more cautious, and the overall market has displayed distinct phased characteristics. In terms of trading activity, market liquidity for rhenium weakened notably in early February compared with late January, mainly driven by sentiment spillover from the gold and silver markets. Recent price volatility in gold and silver has fostered a wait-and-see mood across the precious metals sector, which indirectly spread to scattered rare metals such as rhenium and slowed overall trading pace. Most market activity consisted of inquiries, with many investors remaining cautious; actual transactions were limited, supported only by small-volume rigid orders. Meanwhile, mild selling by retail investors emerged, reflecting uncertainty over the short-term outlook and further dampening trading sentiment. On the price front, despite weaker trading, rhenium prices remained firm and trended steadily higher, driven primarily by tight supply at the raw material upstream. Ammonium rhenate, the key feedstock for rhenium production, stayed in short supply with prices rising continuously, sharply pushing up raw material costs for downstream smelters. Supported by cost pass-through, end-product prices such as rhenium pellets also moved higher. However, as ammonium rhenate prices kept climbing, downstream smelters faced intense cost pressure. Some producers reported that price adjustments for finished products could not keep up with raw material inflation, squeezing profit margins, and a number of processors planned to raise the proportion of scrap recycling. Looking ahead, the supply picture for ammonium rhenate may see marginal improvement. Attracted by expanding profit margins, many copper‑molybdenum smelters have begun considering recovering ammonium rhenate via smelting by‑processing, which would help ease tight supply to some extent. That said, rhenium is a scattered rare metal present at very low concentrations in copper‑molybdenum ores, and recovery involves technical barriers. Even with increased recovery efforts, output will remain limited, implying a persistent supply deficit in the ammonium rhenate market. In terms of market expectations, the recent failed bidding for 3 tonnes of ammonium rhenate for Sinopec’s catalyst demand indirectly reflected producers’ optimistic outlook. Suppliers widely expect further upside for ammonium rhenate prices and were unwilling to sell in large quantities at current levels, resulting in the unsuccessful tender. Overall, rhenium prices are expected to stay firm in the short term, supported by tight raw material supply and producer reluctance to sell. Over the longer term, rising recovery from copper‑molybdenum smelters may alleviate supply pressure, but a supply gap will persist. The rhenium market is likely to remain high and volatile, with industry profit distribution continuing to shift alongside changes in supply and demand.

SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: LME copper opened at $13,270/mt overnight, initially testing the low at $13,252/mt, after which copper prices fluctuated upward, hitting a high of $13,526/mt and hovering at highs, eventually closing at $13,410/mt, up 3.95%. Trading volume reached 38,000 lots, down 10,550 lots from the previous session; open interest stood at 326,000 lots, down 1,276 lots from the previous session, reflecting overall bear position reduction. The most-traded SHFE copper contract 2603 opened at 104,950 yuan/mt overnight, initially testing the high at 105,800 yuan/mt, after which the center declined to test the low at 104,440 yuan/mt, fluctuating rangebound overall, and eventually closed at 105,180 yuan/mt, up 3.49%. Trading volume reached 129,000 lots, down 246,000 lots from the previous session; open interest stood at 192,000 lots, up 35 lots from the previous session, reflecting overall bull position increase.

[SMM Analysis:April China's Copper Concentrate Imports: Unexpected Yet Reasonable ] In April 2025, China's imports of copper concentrates reached a record 2.9244 million tons, up 22.16% month-on-month, 24.55% year-on-year, and 7.46% year-on-year cumulatively. It is not difficult to observe that from the end of 2024 to the first half of 2025, many copper smelters in China commenced operations, releasing rough smelting capacity. The surge in copper concentrate imports driven by the sharp increase in demand was reasonable, but such a high import volume was still unexpected. Let's specifically analyze the main sources of this high-level copper concentrate imports.

[SMM Analysis: China's Copper Concentrates Imports in April: Unexpected Yet Reasonable] In April 2025, China's copper concentrates imports reached a record high of 2.9244 million mt, up 22.16% MoM, up 24.55% YoY, and up 7.46% on a cumulative YoY basis. It is not difficult to observe that from year-end 2024 to H1 2025, many copper smelters in China commenced operations, releasing smelting capacity. The surge in copper concentrates imports, driven by a significant increase in demand for copper concentrates, was reasonable. However, the unexpectedly high import value of copper concentrates came as a surprise. We attribute the high volume of copper concentrates imports to the following factors.