SMM Copper Market Daily Review (2015-1-29)

SHANGHAI, Jan. 30 (SMM) – Copper for April delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most active contract, dipped to RMB 39,240/mt after starting at RMB 39,710/mt and ended up RMB 70/mt at RMB 39,760/mt in Wednesday’s night session. Trading volumes for the SHFE 1504 copper contract totaled some 380,000 lots, while positions added by 5,722.

On Thursday, SHFE copper initially failed to rise above RMB 39,600/mt and later sank to around RMB 39,450/mt before finishing down RMB 370/mt, or 0.93% at RMB 39,320/mt. Trading volumes for the most active contract shed 84,624 lots, while positions gained 16,712.

Spot copper was quoted at a RMB 0-50/mt premium to the SHFE 1502 copper contract in Shanghai on Thursday. Standard- and high-quality copper sold for RMB 40,000-40,100/mt and RMB 40,030-40,150/mt, respectively.

Spot copper supply grew slightly on Thursday as a few cargo holders of imported copper began to sell. The price of standard-quality copper was almost on par with that of high-quality copper. Hydro-copper supply rose fractionally. Middlemen went bargain-hunting, while downstream producers stayed largely out of the market on Thursday. Spot copper was offered between a RMB 10/mt discount and a RMB 20/mt premium, and traded at RMB 39,930-40,050/mt in the afternoon trading.