SMM Evening Comments (Feb 7): Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Closed with Losses with Investors Keen on Demand Recovery

SHANGHAI, Feb 7 (SMM) – Shanghai nonferrous metals closed mostly with losses. On the macro front, rising US dollar index recently contained the upside momentum of metals prices. In addition, the demand recovery in China is still ambiguous, a bear from the futures market.

SHFE copper fell 0.34%, aluminium gained 0.74%, lead slid 0.26%, zinc lost 0.83%, tin dropped 1.9%, and nickel shed 2.4%.

Copper: The most-traded SHFE 2303 copper closed down 0.34% or 230 yuan/mt at 68,260 yuan/mt, with open interest down 2,706 lots to 162,437 lots.

In the spot market, some downstream players started to purchase when SHFE copper fell below 68,000 yuan/mt, and the spot premiums also rose to some extent today.

Aluminium: The most-traded SHFE 2303 aluminium closed up 0.74% or 140 yuan/mt at 19,095 yuan/mt, with open interest up 2,297 lots to 186,480 lots.

On the fundamentals, the supply in Yunnan province is expected to fall, while on the demand side, the spot market gradually picked up with downstream players resuming the production gradually, which offered some support to aluminium prices. Therefore, it is expected that aluminium price will move rangebound in the near term. The production curtailment as well as the inventory accumulation is worth attention at present.

Lead: The most-traded SHFE 2303 lead closed down 0.26% or 40 yuan/mt at 15,235 yuan/mt, with open interest up 1,651 lots to 73,210 lots.

In the spot market, SHFE lead kept falling, while most cargo holders quoted with narrow discounts amid sufficient supply. The downstream players, on the other hand, purchased on rigid demand, and some were in anticipation of further price cuts. Transactions were mostly done with long-term orders, and the spot market has not yet improved.

Zinc: The most-traded SHFE 2303 zinc closed down 0.83% or 195 yuan/mt at 23,365 yuan/mt, with open interest down 498 lots to 83,315 lots.

Market transactions were relatively active yesterday when SHFE zinc price dropped, but the traders were generally firm to their offers today, hence the market was obviously less active.

Tin: The most-traded SHFE 2303 tin closed down 1.9% or 4,200 yuan/mt at 216,900 yuan/mt, with open interest up 1,772 lots to 32,350 lots.

In the spot market, downstream demand has been forward when SHFE tin dropped yesterday, hence the transactions were relatively poor today. SHFE warrants inventory fell 177 mt to 7,243 mt.

Nickel: The most-traded SHFE 2303 nickel closed down 2.4% or 5,160 yuan/mt at 209,850 yuan/mt, with open interest down 8,541 lots to 69,501 lots.

In the spot market, Jinchuan nickel was in premiums of 7,300-7,500 yuan/mt, with an average of 7,400 yuan/mt, up 400 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. NORNICKEL nickel was in premiums of 6,500 yuan/mt, down 50 yuan/mt on a daily basis. SHFE nickel rebounded in morning trade after opening low, and the market inquiries picked up as the spot prices dropped slightly. For nickel briquette, the prices stood between 214,700-215,500 yuan/mt, down 1,150 yuan/mt from a day ago.

[Disclaimer: The above representation and data is based on market information SMM believes to be reliable at the time of acquiring as well as the comprehensive assessment by SMM research team, and any and all information provided in this article is for reference only. This article does not constitute a direct recommendation for investment or any decisions in any form and clients shall act on their own discreet and any decisions made by clients are not within the responsibility of SMM.]