SHANGHAI, Mar. 9 (SMM) –As LME copper prices rallied overnight, SHFE 1206 copper contract prices, the most active one, opened RMB 290/mt higher at RMB 59,670/mt Thursday. Both LME copper prices and Chinese stock prices rose stably during the whole trading day, but SHFE copper prices failed to break out technical resistance and only fluctuated around the daily moving average of RMB 59,600/mt due to a lack of buying support, with an intraday high at RMB 59,800/mt and low at RMB 59,430/mt. Finally, the most actively-traded copper contract closed at RMB 59,500/mt, up RMB 120/mt or 0.2%. Positions for SHFE 1206 copper contract were down 138 lots, and trading volumes were down 25,062 lots. Investors mainly conducted intraday operations, and their speculative interest weakened. Hence, SHFE copper prices would face resistance at RMB 60,000/mt over the near term.

In spot markets, as SHFE copper prices rebounded marginally, cargo-holders for hedge trading were eager to move goods, depressing spot copper premiums. Some high-quality copper even traded at slight discounts, so the price gap between standard-quality and high-quality copper was extremely small. Mainstream copper offers were quoted between discounts of negative RMB 50/mt and premiums of positive RMB 20/mt in the morning business. Traded prices for standard-quality copper were between RMB 58,850-58,980/mt during the whole trading day, and RMB 58,920-59,050/mt for high-quality copper. The supply of low-quality copper was limited, highlighting cargo-holders’ unwillingness in sales given discounts. Market activity was modest as downstream producers made fewer transaction volumes than the previous day.