[Al Price] SHFE Aluminum Ends with Slim Gains (Aug. 11, 2015)

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $12,724.5/mt. In early trading, it fluctuated upward to a high of $12,829.5/mt, after which the center of copper prices shifted straight downward to a low of $12,721/mt. It then fluctuated upward in a pullback and finally closed at $12,780/mt, down 1.07%. Trading volume reached 17,000 lots, and open interest stood at 293,000 lots, down 8,255 lots from the previous trading day, mainly due to longs reducing positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2604 contract opened at 99,120 yuan/mt. In early trading, it rose to 99,530 yuan/mt, then fluctuated downward all the way to a low of 98,900 yuan/mt. Afterwards, the center of copper prices moved upward and finally closed at 99,140 yuan/mt, down 0.92%. Trading volume reached 27,700 lots, and open interest stood at 177,000 lots, down 1,993 lots from the previous trading day, mainly due to longs reducing positions.

Data released by the Kazakhstan Bureau of Statistics showed that Kazakhstan's copper cathode production in January-February 2026 fell 9.1% YoY.Copper Cathode: February 2026 production was 35,625 mt, down 7.8% MoM; total production in January-February was 74,266 mt, down 9.1% YoY.

HBIS Resources (000923) announced on March 17 that the Limpopo Province of South Africa, where its subsidiary Palabora Copper (Pty) Ltd. is located, and the neighboring Mpumalanga Province had been hit by the most severe flooding disaster since 2000. As runoff from the open pit and surrounding catchment areas surged into the company’s mine workings, some tunnels in Phase I and Phase II of the copper project were flooded, causing some critical facilities to be submerged (with no casualties). As the operating area of Copper Phase II is located at a deeper level, dewatering has progressed relatively slowly, and dewatering operations are still underway, with completion expected in early April.