SHANGHAI, Mar 7 (SMM) – Cash-in demand drove spot copper sellers to lower offers in Shanghai on the morning of Thursday March 7, as expanded backwardation of SHFE copper contracts grew downstream caution. 

This morning, offers were mostly heard at a discount of 130 yuan/mt to a premium of 30 yuan/mt over the SHFE 1903 contract, compared with a discount of 60 yuan/mt to a premium of 120 yuan/mt on the previous morning. 

At the end for morning trading session on Thursday, sellers expanded discounts for standard-quality copper, to 140 yuan/mt, compared with 100 yuan/mt in early trades, and this attached some downstream purchases. 

Premiums of high-quality copper were heard at 20 yuan/mt at noon, compared with 40 yuan/mt earlier this morning. During the same period, offers of hydro-copper dipped to a discount of 240 yuan/mt, from 200 yuan/mt. 

On the morning of March 7, the SHFE 1903 contract consolidated around 49,900 yuan/mt and ended at 49,860 yuan/mt at the end of the morning trading session, down 60 yuan/mt from that time on March 6. Its price spread with the April contract widened to some 150 yuan/mt this morning. 

At noon on March 7, high-grade copper traded at 49,870-49,950 yuan/mt and standard-quality copper traded at 49,730-49,830 yuan/mt.