Copper prices continued dropping in China's futures and spot markets on June 25, while slightly rebounded at the LME. Near-term pressure from macro tightening and tariff uncertainty weighed on copper prices, but market participants have began actively purchasing at low, supporting the price floor.
China's refined copper spot trading increased on June 25, with spot premiums rising across major markets. Continuously falling copper prices boosted downstream stockpiling, though short-term demand may stay mediocre approaching the half-year-end.
Refined copper traders' inventory dropped as of June 25, primarily driven by active downstream purchasing during this week's copper price declines. However, Chinese smelters' refined copper shipments and import arrivals grew, limiting the overall inventory decrease. Overseas, LME copper inventory has been declining recently while COMEX inventory persistently growing, due to U.S. import tariff expectations on refined copper.
Trading in China's copper semis markets generally improved on June 25. End-users' procurement sentiment increased amid continuous copper price declines, leading to growing orders in the copper rod, copper plate/strip, and copper tube markets, though copper bar transactions stayed weak due to widespread caution. Overall, copper consumption in China remained firm.
