SMM Daily Review - 2011/11/29 Copper Market

SHANGHAI, Nov. 30 (SMM) –SHFE 1202 copper contract prices, the most active one, opened slightly down by RMB 80/mt lower at RMB 55,200/mt on Tuesday. After the opening, SHFE three-month copper contract prices continued to fluctuate around the daily moving average of RMB 55,100/mt, with prices lowering to test RMB 54,850/mt but temporarily gaining support at RMB 55,000/mt. In the afternoon session, as LME copper prices surged to challenge USD 7,500/mt, and since the Shanghai Composite Index broke out 2,400 points, SHFE three-month copper contract prices broke the morning business resistance and gradually drifted higher to a level near RMB 55,500/mt. Finally, SHFE 1202 copper contract prices closed at RMB 55,460/mt, up RMB 180/mt or 0.33%. Positions for SHFE 1202 copper contracts were down 10,076 lots, and trading volumes were down 212,000 lots. SHFE copper prices got support at the 10-day moving average but met great resistance at near the 40-day moving average of RMB 55,800/mt, with limited upside room since both long and short investors mainly made intraday operations recently.   

In the spot market, as SHFE copper prices failed to rally after a low open, copper premiums stayed virtually unchanged from the previous day levels, reporting between positive RMB 450-600/mt in the morning business. Traded prices for standard-quality copper were between RMB 56,450-56,650/mt in the morning session, and RMB 56,860-56,750/mt for high-quality copper. As SHFE copper prices fell and since the month’s end approaches, copper supply increased significantly during the whole trading day, but purchases from downstream producers were restricted due to cash flow problems. In the afternoon business, since SHFE copper prices rose by more than RMB 500/mt, spot copper premiums slid to positive RMB 480-500/mt. Traded prices increased to between RMB 56,650-56,900/mt in the afternoon session, but market transactions were very light.