SHANGHAI, Oct 23 (SMM) - LME copper prices opened at $7959/mt and closed at $7940/mt last Friday, a drop of 0.88%, with the low-end of $7930.5/mt and the high-end of $7985.5/mt. Trading volume was 17,000 lots, and open interest stood at 268,000 lots. The most active SHFE 2311 copper contract prices opened at 66190 yuan/mt and finished at 66310 yuan/mt last Friday evening, down 0.23%, with the low-end of 66230 yuan/mt and the high-end of 66470 yuan/mt. Trading volume was 16,000 lots, and open interest stood at 119,000 lots.
On the macro front, Fed Bostic believes the Fed will not cut interest rates before the middle of next year. The end of 2024 may be the time for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. SMM data showed that as of Friday October 20, copper inventory across major Chinese markets stood at 95,300 mt, down 18,800 mt from last Monday and down 22,000 mt from two Fridays ago. Specifically, acceptable downstream demand in East China and some supplies being transferred to South China, resulted in a decrease in inventory in East China. Demand in South China also showed strong performance, and inventories fell. In terms of consumption, companies are still scheduling production orders, and demand is expected to remain strong. In terms of price, copper prices are expected to remain relatively low in the near future.
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