SHANGHAI, Jul. 16 (SMM) – SHFE 1509 copper started Tuesday evening session at RMB 40,310/mt and fell to RMB 40,130/mt. Later, the red metal advanced above RMB 40,550/mt, to end at RMB 40,450/mt, up RMB 20/mt or 0.05%. Positions saw a rise of 44 and trading volumes totaled 140,000 lots.
On Wednesday, the most trading contract slipped to RMB 40,450/mt after testing RMB 40,700/mt. The price finally closed the day at RMB 40,750/mt, its highest today, growing RMB 320/mt or 0.79%. Trading volumes fell 7,428 lots and positions declined 4,514.
Today was the last trading day for SHFE 1507 copper, which closed up RMB 20/mt at RMB 41,200/mt. Positions totaled 8,820. SHFE 1508 copper finished at RMB 41,100/mt, rising RMB 350/mt.
Spot copper traded at a discount of RMB 60-140/mt against SHFE 1507 copper on Wednesday in Shanghai. Standard-quality copper was offered at RMB 41,200-41,300/mt and RMB 41,240-41,340/mt for high-quality copper. Some sellers offered premiums of RMB 80-100/mt to SHFE 1508 copper contract in the afternoon.
In the morning, price gap narrowed to RMB 200/mt between SHFE 1507 and 1508 copper. Some high-quality copper was offered at a small discount of RMB 60/mt, but traders and downstream buyers rejected the quotes. Later, the price spread widened to about RMB 400/mt and some cargo holders were willing to cut prices to sell with copper futures prices falling, expanding spot discounts to RMB 80-100/mt for high-quality copper and to RMB 120-140/mt for standard-quality copper. Some traders were still reluctant to purchase against the large spot discounts.