Trades in Copper Import Market Remained Sluggish

SHANGHAI, Dec 20 (SMM) – The trades remained subdued, and the Yangshan copper premiums changed little. Many trading companies have closed their accounts and are busy with the year-end settlement, lacking purchasing interest for spot cargoes. Import losses fluctuated between 200-400 yuan/mt during the week against the January contract. The quotes of cargoes under B/L slated to arrive in late December and the first half of January were flat from the previous week, with the quotes standing between $100-105/mt for the two high quality brands. The quotes stood at $95-100/mt for mainstream pyro-copper. The demand was poor. Some traders lowered their quotes to liquidate stocks under the condition that the orders be placed before the New Year’s Day. The traded prices were lower.

On the warrants front, both the supply and demand were weak. The scarce supply combined with the structural advantages resulting from the continued deliveries to LME warehouses has reduced the quotes under warrants. The quotes of domestic pyro-copper were reportedly firm at $110-120/mt, but there were few trades. Import premiums under warrants are currently quoted at $92-112/mt, unchanged from a week earlier on average, and quotes for B/L stand at $76-96/mt, a decline of $2/mt. The trades will remain lacklustre at the end of the year. Yangshan copper premiums are expected to move rangebound this week.

The copper inventories in domestic bonded zones decreased 1,300 mt from December 10 to 173,900 mt as of Friday December 17, falling for ten consecutive weeks, according to SMM survey. The inventory decline has narrowed noticeably. The inventory in the Shanghai bonded zone decreased 1,300 mt to 160,500 mt, and the inventory in the Guangdong bonded zone remained unchanged at 13,400 mt. The trading in the domestic and import market has weakened at the year-end. The SHFE/LME copper price ratio dipped last week. And there have been import losses since the middle of the week. The import demand was subdued. As such, the decline in the bonded zone inventories has slowed down.