LME Copper to Set with Gains (2017-6-22)

[SMM Copper Spot] Copper prices shot up again to above 109,000 yuan/mt during the day. Currently, deliverable warrants in both Shanghai and Guangdong have not been released in large quantities, spot circulating supply remains tight, and suppliers are quoting high premiums. Shanghai spot copper traded at premiums of 650-690 yuan/mt before approaching premiums of 700-730 yuan/mt. Supply in South China is also hard to find, with transactions reaching premiums of around 700 yuan/mt. (The above examples are based on mainstream standard-quality copper supply; premiums for high-quality copper are even higher.)

The recent copper price correction has driven concentrated release of downstream orders. With the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays approaching, enameled wire enterprises have launched pre-stocking, boosting production enthusiasm. The industry operating rate is expected to maintain an upward trend. Next week, focus on copper price fluctuations and the pace of downstream pre-holiday stocking.

This week (Sep 11–17), the operating rate of the enameled wire industry rose by 5.2 percentage points month-on-month, exceeding expectations. Copper prices drifted lower starting last Friday, releasing pent-up downstream rigid demand previously suppressed by high copper prices. New orders jumped 16.67 percentage points from the prior week.