SMM News on February 10:
Today, #1 copper cathode spot prices against the SHFE 2502 contract were quoted at a discount of 30 yuan/mt to a premium of 20 yuan/mt, with an average price at a discount of 5 yuan/mt, up 5 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Standard-quality copper was traded at 76,800-77,030 yuan/mt, while high-quality copper was traded at 76,820-77,060 yuan/mt. The SHFE copper 2502 contract opened higher but moved downwards during the morning session, testing 77,480 yuan/mt initially before quickly declining to 76,890 yuan/mt and fluctuating around 77,000 yuan/mt. The price spread between the SHFE copper 2502 and 2503 contracts during the morning session fluctuated between a discount of 170 yuan/mt and 200 yuan/mt.
The spot market quotations were stable in the early morning, and spot premiums stopped falling and began to recover. At the beginning of the session, suppliers quoted mainstream standard-quality copper at parity to a premium of 20 yuan/mt, while high-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 10-30 yuan/mt. Last week, a large number of warehouse warrants were registered in the Shanghai region, leading to weak supply and demand in the spot market. Suppliers were reluctant to sell at low prices, while downstream demand had not fully recovered. During the main trading session, premiums slightly declined, with mainstream standard-quality copper traded at a discount of 30-10 yuan/mt and high-quality copper traded at a discount of 10 yuan/mt to a premium of 20 yuan/mt. Hydro copper was traded in small volumes at a discount of around 100 yuan/mt. By 11:00 a.m., spot premiums stabilized.
Spot premiums operated as expected during the day, with market transactions slightly improving compared to last week. According to SMM, inventory buildup in the Shanghai region over the weekend was around 20,000 mt. Although there were concentrated arrivals of imported copper during the week, as the SHFE copper 2402 contract approaches delivery, spot prices are expected to continue operating at slight discounts.
