SHANGHAI, Feb. 5 (SMM) – Copper for April delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most active contract, started at RMB 41,150/mt and rebounded briefly to RMB 40,800/mt before ending up RMB 810/mt at RMB 41,250/mt in Tuesday’s night session. Trading volumes for the SHFE 1504 copper contract totaled some 290,000 lots, while positions held steady.

On Wednesday, SHFE copper initially railed to RMB 42,000/mt, but later fell to RMB 41,350/mt before finishing up RMB 720/mt, or 1.78% at RMB 41,160/mt. Trading volumes for the most active contract increased 72,748 lots, while positions shrank 16,532.

Spot copper was quoted between a RMB 20/mt discount and a RMB 30/mt premium to the SHFE 1502 copper contract in Shanghai on Wednesday. Standard- and high-quality copper sold for RMB 41,500-41,780/mt and RMB 41,520-41,800/mt, respectively. Copper smelters reduced sales, expecting prices to rise, while some speculative traders were not active due to the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday, resulting in a decline in spot supply. Standard-quality and hydro-copper gained favor with buyers, with their prices almost on par with high-quality copper prices. After copper prices rebounded above RMB 41,000/mt, downstream producers curtailed purchases on Wednesday. Spot copper was quoted between a RMB 30/mt discount and a RMB 20/mt premium, and traded a touch lower at RMB 41,280-41,550/mt in the afternoon trading.