SMM Copper Market Daily Review (2013-2-20)

SHANGHAI, Feb. 21 (SMM) –SHFE 1305 copper contract, the most active one, opened RMB 90/mt down at RMB 58,800/mt Wednesday. The contract moved narrowly around the daily moving average during the day, with a fluctuating band of merely RMB 300/mt. With resistance at RMB 58,850/mt, SHFE copper prices followed LME copper to test a low at RMB 58,540/mt in the afternoon, but pared some of declines at the tail of trading, as Chinese A-shares increased. SHFE 1305 copper contract closed RMB 230/mt or 0.39% lower at RMB 58,660/mt, with trading volumes and positions down 662 lots and 842 lots, respectively. Total trading volumes on the SHFE increased by 20,102 lots, and total positions added by 5,228 lots. The most active copper contract seemed to begin shifting. SHFE copper price drops may alleviate once gaining support at RMB 58,500/mt.

SHFE copper prices continued falling and caused hedged copper to flow into spot markets continuously. Speculators still expressed strong interest in moving goods for cash, while shipments of imported copper arrived at ports. Spot copper supply thus remained sufficient, so copper discounts expanded further to RMB 200-330/mt in the morning business. Traded prices for standard-quality copper were between RMB 58,050-58,120/mt, and RMB 58,150-58,230/mt for high-quality copper. With some downstream producers getting back to markets, transaction volumes increased slightly. However, supply surplus was still pronounced. In the afternoon, SHFE copper prices slid again, but mainstream spot copper discounts were little changed between RMB 200-320/mt. Traded prices declined to RMB 57,950-58,100/mt in the afternoon, and some downstream producers chose to buy at prices below RMB 58,000/mt.