Spot Copper Price Movement (2014-7-17)

SHANGHAI, Jul. 17 (SMM) – In the Shanghai physical market, copper was offered Thursday between a RMB 30/mt discount and a RMB 100/mt premium over the SHFE 1408 copper contract. Traded prices were RMB 50,250-50,330/mt for standard-quality copper and RMB 50,300-50,430/mt for high-quality copper. As SHFE copper prices fell sharply, some copper for arbitrage flowed out, with a variety of brands available in the market. Although cargo holders intended to push up physical premiums during the morning trading, premiums narrowed rapidly amid growing supply. SHFE copper hovered in wide ranges on Thursday, meeting resistance at the RMB 50,000/mt mark. Middlemen thus expressed lower buying interest, while downstream producers went bargain-hunting out of fears that prices will fall, with modest trading volumes.