SMM Brief on Copper Futures on Aug. 9

SHANGHAI, Aug. 9 (SMM) –As LME copper prices overnight plummeted by more than USD 300/mt due to panic sell-off pressures, prices directly fell to USD 8,500 after opening in the morning business. In this context, SHFE 1110 copper contract prices, the most active one, opened down RMB 4,060/mt or 6% at RMB 63,560/mt on Tuesday, and the shorts reported profit-taking soon after the opening. The Shanghai Composite Index broke through 2,500 points and dropped to 2,437 points, and China later announced July’s CPI data set a new record high, adding to market expectations of interest rate hikes. As a result, SHFE three-month copper contract prices fluctuated narrowly around RMB 64,100/mt. In the second trading session, the US dollar index fell back to 74.5 from 74.9, helping LME and SHFE copper prices increase from their initially falling trends. In the afternoon session, SHFE three-month copper contract prices reached a high at RMB 66,030/mt since some longs entered into the market to make bottom fishing, narrowing the daily losses. Finally, the most actively-traded copper contract prices closed at RMB 65,960/mt, down RMB 1,660/mt, or a loss of 2.45%. Trading volumes and positions for the most actively-traded copper contracts were up 130,000 lots and 5,072 lots, respectively. SHFE copper prices experienced a technical rebound today, and future price movements will depend on global financial markets’ response to the Fed interest rate discussion meeting to be held this evening.