The most-traded BC copper 2604 contract opened at 89,120 yuan/mt today. Early in the session, the center of copper prices gradually moved higher and rose to 89,950 yuan/mt, then fluctuated in wide swings. After the daytime session opened, the center of copper prices fell sharply to a low of 88,920 yuan/mt, then fluctuated upward and finally closed at 89,400 yuan/mt, down 0.71%. Open interest reached 5,673 lots, an increase of 123 lots from the previous trading day, while trading volume totaled 3,831 lots, indicating short position buildup by bears. From a macro perspective, the US February CPI rose 2.4% YoY, in line with market expectations. Although Trump said the war was expected to end quickly, uncertainty in the Middle East still remained, and the market stayed alert to escalating conflict. The US dollar index edged up, weighing on copper prices. Fundamentals side, supply was ample due to the impact of concentrated arrivals of imported cargoes and delivery factors, while downstream rigid demand was gradually released on the demand side. As of March 12, SMM copper inventories in major regions nationwide fell 0.57% from before the Chinese New Year.
The SHFE copper 2604 contract closed at 101,010 yuan/mt. Based on the BC copper 2604 contract price of 89,400 yuan/mt, its after-tax price was 101,022 yuan/mt. The price spread between the SHFE copper 2603 contract and BC copper was -12, and the inverted spread remained in place but narrowed significantly from the previous day.
