Price Spread Between High-Quality And Standard-Quality Copper Expands to 100 yuan/mt

SHANGHAI, Aug 23 (SMM) - Today, spot premiums of #1 copper cathode moved between 300-430 yuan/mt over the SHFE 2309 copper contract, and the average premium was 365 yuan/mt, up 40 yuan/mt from yesterday. The traded prices of standard-quality copper were 69320~69440 yuan/mt, and the high-quality copper was traded at 69400~69540 yuan/mt. The SHFE 2309 copper contract once again rose above 69000 yuan/mt, rising from 69000 yuan/mt to above 69150 yuan/mt at the beginning of the session, and then rolling back its gains to close at 69020 yuan/mt. The import loss expanded to 500 yuan/mt in that month, and the backwardation of SHFE front-month copper contract against the SHFE next-month contract moved around 180~210 yuan/mt.

The purchases were mainly for non-registered cargoes, and the spot transaction activity was dominated by traders. In the morning, premiums of mainstream standard-quality copper were 310~330 yuan/mt, and those of high-quality copper stood at 450 yuan/mt amid tight supply. Premiums of hydro-copper were around 260 yuan/mt. The supply of good copper such as Guixi, Jinchuan Daban, CCC-P, etc. was very tight, and the traded premiums were above 400 yuan/mt.

Quotes for standard-quality copper that can be delivered were still firm, and the trades of the non-deliverable standard-quality copper were not good. Tomorrow, the spot premiums are expected to stand at around 300 yuan/mt.