The CLNB 2026 Solid-State Battery Conference was held in Suzhou in April, where experts reached a consensus that 2026-2030 will be a critical period for industrialisation. The conference focused on breakthroughs in technology pathways such as oxide and sulphide, elaborating on progress in mass production of lithium sulphide, innovations in high-specific-energy cathodes, and upgrades in equipment and processes.

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 Brief: Overnight, LME copper opened at $13,104.5/mt, then its center moved downward to a low of $13,003.5/mt. It then fluctuated upward, hitting a high of $13,096.5/mt near the close, and finally closed at $12,919/mt, up 1.37%. Trading volume reached 22,000 lots, down 9,254 lots from the previous trading day; open interest stood at 304,000 lots, up 1,035 lots from the previous trading day, mainly reflecting long position buildup overall. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2604 contract opened at 101,430 yuan/mt. After dipping to 101,200 yuan/mt in early trading, it hovered at highs, hitting a high of 101,930 yuan/mt near the close, and finally closed at 101,860 yuan/mt, up 0.7%. Trading volume reached 28,000 lots, down 88,000 lots from the previous trading day; open interest stood at 193,000 lots, down 1,780 lots from the previous trading day, mainly reflecting short position reduction overall.

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] As the delivery period approaches, spot discounts for SHFE copper are expected to continue narrowing steadily. From the perspective of market structure, the inter-month contango price spread between futures contracts has widened, significantly strengthening suppliers’ willingness to ship to delivery warehouses. In particular, inventory in Jiangsu is mainly in the form of warrants, and suppliers tend to opt for delivery rather than spot sales, resulting in persistently tight availability of deliverable spot cargo. In addition, spot premiums quotes in Jiangsu are slightly higher than those in Shanghai. Against this backdrop, suppliers showed a strong willingness to hold prices firm intraday, and quotes in the second session were raised slightly, making procurement more difficult for some downstream enterprises. Looking ahead to tomorrow, under delivery-driven dynamics, spot premiums in Shanghai are expected to remain at current levels.

SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: Overnight, LME copper opened at $13,146/mt and hit an early high of $13,153/mt. Thereafter, the center of copper prices gradually moved lower, dipping to $12,975/mt near the close, and finally settled at $13,027.5/mt, up 0.49%. Trading volume rose to 25,000 lots, and open interest to 306,000 lots, down 1,096 lots from the previous trading day, mainly due to bears reducing positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2604 contract opened at 101,640 yuan/mt and climbed early to 102,080 yuan/mt, then fluctuated downward to a low of 101,200 yuan/mt, followed by wide swings, and finally settled at 101,700 yuan/mt, up 0.45%. Trading volume rose to 44,800 lots, and open interest to 195,000 lots, down 213 lots from the previous trading day, mainly due to bears reducing positions.

[Shanghai spot copper] Spot premiums/discounts are still expected to face downward pressure. Approaching the Chinese New Year holiday, market participation continues to decline, with most suppliers and downstream enterprises gradually entering the holiday period, leading to a generally sluggish trading atmosphere during the day. Supply side, price-ratio locked cargoes secured during the previous period of open import arbitrage windows are continuously arriving at ports, and the supply of spot copper available in the market is steadily increasing. Demand side, however, is weakening further due to the approaching holiday, as downstream enterprises have generally completed their pre-holiday stockpiling, resulting in low purchase willingness at this stage and a clear supply-demand weak pattern in the market. Overall, the market is expected to maintain sluggish trading, with spot discounts forecast to widen further tomorrow.

[Ivanhoe Reports Updated Resource Estimate for DRC Exploration Project; Contained Copper Doubles] On May 14, Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines announced the independently verified, updated Mineral Resource estimate for the Makoko area within its Western Forelands Exploration Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Western Forelands license area, which borders the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, covers 2,393 square kilometres—approximately six times the size of the Kamoa-Kakula mining area. Since November 2023, the Makoko District has extended by 2 kilometres to a total strike length of 13 kilometres, with total contained copper doubling during that period. According to the latest update, the Makoko District now hosts Indicated Mineral Resources of 27.7 million tonnes at a grade of 2.79% copper and Inferred Mineral Resources of 493.7 million tonnes at 1.70% copper, all based on a 1.0% copper cut-off grade. In total, Ivanhoe has now identified 38.9 million tonnes of contained copper in Measured & Indicated Resources and an additional 13.6 million tonnes in Inferred Resources across the broader Western Forelands license package—including the Kamoa and Kakula deposits—based on the same 1.0% copper cut-off.

On April 24, at the CCIE 2025 SMM (20th) Copper Industry Conference & Copper Industry Expo – Secondary Copper Industry Green Development Forum, Xie Houyuan, the procurement director of Shenzhen Londian Wason Technology Co., Ltd., shared her views on the topic of "Application of Secondary Copper by Copper Foil Enterprises."

【SMM Spot Copper】The futures market declined, and downstream buyers actively priced below 79,050 yuan/mt, but bearish sentiment rose, leading to a decrease in purchase volume compared to yesterday. According to SMM data, Shanghai's inventory on Thursday recorded 210,786 mt, down nearly 8,000 mt from Monday. During the week, copper prices fell, increasing downstream cargo pick-up sentiment, along with stockpiling factors for the Qingming Festival. Spot premiums are expected to rise further next week, but with warrants still not significantly digested, the increase is expected to be limited.

During the day, both the SHFE copper current-month and the most-traded contracts surpassed the 80,000 yuan/mt threshold. Downstream procurement sentiment was relatively weak, with large copper rod enterprises primarily focusing on consuming previously stocked raw material inventories, resulting in reduced just-in-time procurement volumes. The SMM #1 copper cathode premiums and discounts rose by 5 yuan/mt compared to the previous day, mainly due to limited available supply and the approaching delivery date, with suppliers showing a clear sentiment to stand firm on quotes.