Spot Premium in Guangdong Continues to Rise as Plunging Copper Prices Spurred Downstream Purchases

Last week, spot quotes edged higher mainly due to the increase in downstream consumption and the continuous decline in inventory. As of Friday, the spot premiums for high-quality copper rose by 30 yuan/mt from a week earlier to 80 yuan/mt, and the premiums for standard-quality copper stood at 70 yuan/mt, up 50 yuan/mt. Hydro-copper was quoted with premiums of 20 yuan/mt, up 50 yuan/mt. It is worth noting that a large amount of high-quality copper flowed into the market after delivery, narrowing its price difference with standard-quality copper. The price difference between standard-quality copper and hydro-copper also contracted due to tight supply of the latter. Last Friday, spot quotes of standard-quality copper in Shanghai were 20 yuan/mt higher than those in Guangdong, and the spread was too small to prompt cargo transfer.