SHANGHAI, Mar. 5 (SMM) – Spot copper was offered on Wednesday at discounts of RMB 50-150/mt over the most active SHFE copper prices in the Shanghai physical market. Traded prices were RMB 49,020-49,100/mt for standard-quality copper and RMB 49,080-49,200/mt for high-quality copper. Encouraged by a rebound in SHFE copper prices, spot copper prices rose back above RMB 49,000/mt. A larger amount of high-quality copper flowed into the market since cargo holder had stronger willingness to trade for cash. There was little scope for spot discounts to narrow further, with less than RMB 50/mt price gap between standard-quality copper and hydro-copper. Standard-quality copper producers, especially those in China, held prices firm on hopes of narrower spot discounts. Downstream purchases were less than Tuesday since they held the rebound in copper prices was transient, but some middlemen with adequate liquidity went bargain-hunting. Spot copper prices failed to follow rising SHFE copper prices up due to the lack of impetus and market confidence on Wednesday.