SHANGHAI, Apr. 16 (SMM) –SHFE 1506 copper contract opened at RMB 42,760/mt during night session Tuesday, and hit a low of RMB 42,570/mt. The prices then rallied but met resistance at RMB 43,180/mt before ending at RMB 42,960/mt, down by RMB 200/mt. Positions in the most active contract declined 982 and trading volumes grew to about 200,000 lots.
The most active SHFE copper contract touched a low of RMB 42,820/mt after opening on Wednesday and rallied to RMB 43,000/mt in the afternoon to end at the level, down RMB 160/mt.
SHFE 1504 copper contract closed at RMB 43,090/mt on its last trading day, with positions at 15,920. May-delivery copper ended at RMB 43,130/mt, with positions down 6,386 and trading volumes falling by 30,612 lots. Resistance at the overlapped 5, 10, and 20-day moving averages strengthened.
Spot copper was offered at premiums of RMB 30-90/mt to SHFE 1504 copper contract Tuesday morning. Prices are RMB 43,080-43,150/mt for standard-quality copper and RMB 43,100-43,180/mt for high-quality copper. Traded prices moved higher in the afternoon to RMB 43,170-43,250/mt, with premiums expanding to RMB 70-100/mt on declining supply.
Cargo holders offered RMB 30-60/mt of premiums early today, and some dealers went bargain-hunting. Later, as the SHFE 1504 copper contract prices outstripped SHFE 1505 copper contract, spot premiums were raised to RMB 50-90/mt. Speculators were upbeat about copper prices after the delivery date and entered the market to source goods. Quotations for standard-quality copper held up on limited supply. Downstream buyers also started buying for fear of a widening in spot premiums after expiration of the April delivery copper.
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