Spot copper discounts narrow as import window closes

SHANGHAI, Jul 30 (SMM) – Spot copper was mostly offered at a discount of 60-20 yuan/mt over the SHFE 1808 contract in Shanghai on Monday July 30. This compared with a discount of 90-50 yuan/mt on Friday July 27. 

Sellers held back as inflows of imported copper will stop with the closure of the import window. The offshore yuan depreciated and stood at 6.85 per dollar this morning. Imported cargoes that entered domestic warehouses last week were mostly depleted as of Monday, SMM learned. 

Traders accounted for most of the trading activity on Monday and favoured standard-quality copper over high-quality copper. Transaction volumes fell from last Friday, but are likely to improve later this week as transactions pick up after the end of each month. 

The SHFE 1808 contract opened at a high of 50,010 yuan/mt but tumbled in the morning. It lost some 500 yuan/mt from last Friday and hovered below 49,600 yuan/mt in the afternoon. 

At noon, high-grade copper traded at 49,720-49,870 yuan/mt and standard-quality copper traded at 49,700-49,850 yuan/mt.