SMM Copper Morning Comment: Copper prices rose on falling US dollar

LME copper prices opened at $8637/mt and closed at $8641.5/mt last evening, up 1.12%, with the high-end of $8680/mt and the low-end of $8622/mt. Trading volume was 27,000 lots and open interest stood at 283,000 lots. The most active SHFE 2404 copper contract prices opened at 69980 yuan/mt and finished at 69810 yuan/mt last evening, up 0.58%, with the low-end of 69719 yuan/mt and the end of 70200 yuan/mt. Trading volume was 41,000 lots, and open interest stood at 154,000 lots. On the macro front, Powell stated that he is fully aware of the risks of cutting interest rates too late and is not far away from having confidence in cutting interest rates. The U.S. dollar index fell sharply, bolstering copper prices. Domestically, in the first two months of this year, China's import and export of goods trade hit a record high for the same period in history, and market optimism was supported. In terms of fundamentals, from the supply side, due to the slow recovery of downstream consumer demand and the rise in copper prices again, the supply of copper has been digested to a limited extent, and the supply is still relatively abundant. Some sellers have converted the supply into warehouse warrants. In terms of consumption, soaring copper prices once again hit market demand. Processing companies have maintained on-demand purchases, and terminal demand has still performed poorly. In terms of price, Powell's dovish remarks combined with optimistic market macro sentiment, will keep copper prices at high levels.