SMM Price Outlook for Base Metals on SHFE (May 9, 2017)

Looking ahead, the Shanghai spot copper market is expected to remain under pressure. Demand side, after the rapid rise in copper prices, orders from downstream enterprises decreased somewhat, with most enterprises still primarily making just-in-time procurement, and demand resilience remains. Market structure side, the inter-month Contango price spread between futures contracts widened slightly. Suppliers holding long positions in near-month contracts, under the contango structure, are more inclined to hold open interest for delivery rather than sell spot copper at low prices, with low willingness to sell at reduced prices and a strong willingness to hold prices firm. Overall, spot prices against the SHFE copper 2604 contract are expected to remain at current levels tomorrow.

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to tomorrow, the Shanghai spot copper market is expected to remain under pressure. Demand side, after the rapid rise in copper prices, orders from downstream enterprises decreased somewhat, with most enterprises still primarily making just-in-time procurement, though demand resilience remains. Market structure side, the inter-month Contango price spread between futures contracts widened slightly. Suppliers who previously held long positions in the near-month contract are more inclined to hold open interest for delivery rather than sell spot cargo at low prices under the contango structure, showing low willingness to sell at low prices and a strong willingness to hold prices firm. Overall, spot prices against the SHFE copper 2604 contract are expected to remain at current levels tomorrow.