SHANGHAI, Apr. 10 (SMM) – The most active SHFE copper contract price leveled out after starting at RMB 46,580/mt, and ended up RMB 60/mt at a high of RMB 46,790/mt during Tuesday’s night session. Traded volumes stood at some 100,000 lots, and positions gained by 6,008 lots. On Wednesday, SHFE copper prices fell to RMB 46,600/mt in the afternoon trading hours after encountering resistance at RMB 46,840/mt, and broke below RMB 46,500/mt at the tail of the trading. The red metal closed down RMB 350/mt, or 0.75%, at an intraday low of RMB 46,380/mt on Wednesday. Traded volumes added by 83,406 lots, while positions expanded by 13,558 lots. SHFE copper prices have been trapped between the 5-day and 10-day moving averages, and should test support at RMB 46,500/mt in the near term.

In the Shanghai physical market, copper was offered Wednesday at a premium of RMB 190-280/mt. Traded prices were RMB 47,480-47,540/mt for standard-quality copper and RMB 47,540-47,620/mt for high-quality copper. SHFE copper prices lacked impetus to bounce back, while losses from copper imports also narrowed after the SHFE/LME copper price ratio recovered. As the delivery date neared, the price gap between the SHFE 1404 copper contract and the SHFE 1405 copper contract also expanded to some RMB 300/mt. As a result, a large number of cargo holders sold off goods, with a variety of copper brands available in the market. Physical premiums narrowed abruptly, but hydro-copper prices were virtually the same as those for standard-quality copper. Downstream producers purchased goods only on an as-needed basis. Middlemen largely bought physical copper and sold futures on Wednesday.