SHANGHAI, Aug 20 (SMM) – Spot copper was mostly offered at a premium of 200-260 yuan/mt over the SHFE 1809 contract in Shanghai on Monday August 20. This compared with a premium of 110-190 yuan/mt last Friday.

While some imported cargoes arrived at ports during the weekend, they have yet to flow into the market. Transaction activity cooled down around noon given less supply of low-priced cargoes.

Premiums for high-quality copper were raised to 250-260 yuan/mt before noon from 240 yuan/mt earlier in the morning. Standard-quality copper also saw higher premiums, which rose to 210-220 yuan/mt from 200 yuan/mt during the morning. 

Low-priced imported cargoes, such as Bulgaria and PASAR brands, attracted more purchasing interests compared to high-quality ones. Those imported products were mostly offered at premiums of 180-190 yuan/mt over the SHFE 1809 contract. 

The SHFE 1809 contract continued to recover last week’s losses on Monday. It rebounded back to above 48,000 yuan/mt and closed at 48,170 yuan/mt at the end of the morning trading session, up 300 yuan/mt from the same time last Friday. 

At noon, high-grade copper traded at 48,400-48,600 yuan/mt and standard-quality copper traded at 48,380-48,560 yuan/mt.