SMM Evening Comments (Aug 25): Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Closed Mostly with Gains ahead of Fed Summit

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to tomorrow, in terms of regional structure, available supply in Changzhou has become significantly looser than before, with the previous tightness effectively alleviated, weakening the support for local spot premiums. From the perspective of supplier behavior, as the month-end cash collection period approaches, sentiment to offload cargo remains high, and suppliers have a strong willingness to continuously lower offer prices. During the day, discounts for some brands have widened to around 100 yuan/mt, and this trend is expected to continue tomorrow. On the demand side, following the decline in copper prices, some copper semis processing enterprises reported an increase in order volume; according to SMM, some end-user transactions were concentrated in the 102,500–103,000 yuan/mt range, indicating that current price levels are moderately attractive to downstream, with dip-buying willingness improving. However, due to aggressive price cuts by suppliers, downstream buyers still mainly push for lower prices in procurement, with limited willingness to chase higher prices. The import loss narrowed sharply to 80–30 yuan/mt, approaching the import breakeven point. Going forward, it is necessary to monitor the inflow of ex-China supplies. Overall, under the combined effect of selling pressure and downstream dip-buying, spot prices against the SHFE copper 2607 contract are expected to remain at a discount, or to widen slightly, tomorrow.

La empresa exploradora australiana Manhattan Gold Corporation Ltd. anunció el martes el inicio del primer programa de perforación en más de 30 años en su proyecto Hook Lake, de 423 kilómetros cuadrados, en Nunavut, Canadá. Situado en el cinturón de rocas verdes Rankin-Ennadai, el proyecto alberga tanto sistemas de oro orogénico de alta ley como mineralización de sulfuros masivos volcanogénicos (SMV) de cobre-zinc-oro-plata. Este año, Manhattan planea completar 4.000 metros de perforación de circulación inversa. Aunque se centra principalmente en objetivos de oro, el programa realizará pruebas preliminares en objetivos polimetálicos, incluido Spectre, donde una perforación histórica en 1974 encontró lentes de sulfuros masivos de cobre-zinc-oro-plata. Además, la empresa implementará un amplio programa de muestreo de till y levantamientos geofísicos aeromagnéticos para evaluar sistemáticamente la mineralización de zinc y otros polimetálicos bajo una delgada cubierta glacial a lo largo de la tendencia.

Today, in North China, spot #1 copper cathode prices against the front-month contract were quoted at an average discount of 260-160 yuan/mt, with the average discount at 210 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average transaction price was 102,990 yuan/mt, down 990 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.