SMM Daily Review – 2012/1/18 Copper Market

SHANGHAI, Jan. 19 (SMM) –SHFE 1204 copper contract prices, the most active one, opened up by RMB 410/mt at RMB 59,800/mt Wednesday. SHFE three-month copper contract prices fluctuated around RMB 59,700/mt during the whole trading day, with persistent resistance at RMB 60,000/mt and testing support at the previous day’s settlement price of RMB 59,330/mt. At the tail of trading, as Chinese stock markets were down by 1.4%, and combined with large-scale position closings by long investors, SHFE three-month copper contract prices lost support immediately and slid considerably. Finally, SHFE 1204 copper contract prices ended at RMB 59,450/mt, up RMB 60/mt or 0.1%. Positions for SHFE 1204 copper contracts were up 4,274 lots, while trading volumes were down 132,000 lots. SHFE copper prices were expected to fluctuate at current levels as the Chinese New Year holiday nears, with great pressures at RMB 60,000/mt.

In the spot market, SHFE copper prices fluctuated after a high open, but copper supply, especially high-quality copper supply, decreased significantly compared with the previous day since many cargo-holders suspended sales for the Chinese New Year holiday. In this context, copper discounts fell slightly to between negative RMB 600-450/mt in the morning business. Traded prices for standard-quality copper were between RMB 58,350-58,500/mt, and RMB 58,450-58,750/mt for high-quality copper. Speculative activity was constrained during the whole trading day, resulting in very limited market transactions in the morning business. In the afternoon session, market activity remained extremely light, and copper discounts were basically unchanged from the morning business levels.