SMM Morning Comments (Jan 8): Shanghai base metals were mostly higher as Wall Street continued to sail to record highs

Published: Jan 8, 2021 10:00
Shanghai base metals were mostly higher on Friday morning after stocks on Wall Street cruised to new record highs overnight. Meanwhile, their counterparts on the LME also rose for the most part.

SHANGHAI, Jan 8 (SMM) — Shanghai base metals were mostly higher on Friday morning after stocks on Wall Street cruised to new record highs overnight. Meanwhile, their counterparts on the LME also rose for the most part.

Shanghai base metals mostly advanced in overnight trading. Copper added 1.61%, aluminium rose 1.18%, lead increased 0.7%, zinc went up 1.05% and nickel strengthened 1.61%, while tin fell 0.44%.

The LME complex performed similarly on Thursday. Copper advanced 1.23%, tin edged up 0.33%, zinc climbed 0.8% and nickel increased 1.97%, while aluminium and lead underperformed with 0.17% and 0.73% losses respectively.

Copper: Three-month LME copper rose 1.23% to end at $8,172/mt on Thursday, and is likely to trade between $8,130-8,210/mt today.

The most-active SHFE 2103 copper contract went up 1.21% to close at 60,240 yuan/mt in overnight trading, and it is expected to move between 60,000-60,500 yuan/mt today, while spot premiums will be seen at 50-120 yuan/mt.

The US Congress confirmed that Biden was elected as the 46th President of the US, and Trump promised an orderly transfer of power. The Democratic Party will hold the White House and Congress at the same time, and a larger fiscal stimulus plan is expected. Investors are optimistic about the prospect that the Democratic Party will implement additional fiscal stimulus, and US stocks hit another record high. In addition, the ISM non-manufacturing PMI released last night in the US recorded 57.2, the highest since September last year. Today, the non-agricultural data of December will be released, waiting for the guidance of the non-agricultural report to the market. On the spot side, with a series of influences such as cold wave and pandemic, downstream processing will gradually decrease before the New Year. Inventory changes and fluctuations of the contract will be monitored, and premium was unlikely to remain high in the spot market as copper prices remained high.

Zinc: Three-month LME zinc rose 0.8% to close at $2,893/mt on Thursday. Zinc stocks at LME-listed warehouses fell 25 mt to 201,875 mt. Overnight, US stocks hit a new high, the US Congress confirmed Biden as president, and the Democratic Party controlled the White House and both houses of Congress, which made the market optimistic that Biden administration would implement more fiscal stimulus measures. However, the fermentation of overseas pandemics is expected to limit the increase of zinc prices. The contract is likely to trade between $2,840-2,890/mt today.

The most-liquid SHFE 2102 zinc contract rose 1.05% to end at 21,710 yuan/mt in overnight trading. Although domestic TC is still at a low level and zinc ore supply is tight, it has not been transmitted to smelters. According to SMM survey, it is predicted that refineries will still maintain high output in January and February, while downstream consumption is gradually weakening, which is expected to limit the upside space of zinc prices. Domestic pandemic situation will be monitored in the near term. The SHFE zinc contract is expected to move between 21,300-21,800 yuan/mt today, while spot premiums for domestic 0# Shuangyan will be seen higher at 150-200 yuan/mt.

Nickel: The most-active SHFE 2103 nickel contract rose 1.61% to close at 133,510 yuan/mt on Thursday. Open interests rose 1,139 lots to 195,000 lots. Whether the contract could remain above 135,000 yuan/mt will come under scrutiny today.

Lead: Three-month LME lead settled 0.73% lower at $2,031.5/mt on Thursday. In order to obstruct the presidential certification, the US Congress is in turmoil, and political instability induces market risk aversion.

The most-active SHFE 2102 lead contract went up 0.7% to close at 15,125 yuan/mt on Thursday night. Overnight, Shanghai base metals continued to rise, giving lead some support.

Tin: Three-month LME tin closed up 0.33% at $21,160/mt on Thursday. The political situation in the US gradually became clear, and Congress confirmed Biden's election as president. The continued decline of LME tin inventories showed that the tight supply situation of refined tin overseas has not eased, and LME tin is expected to keep running at high under this support. Pressure above will be seen from $21,500 /mt today. Support below will be seen from $20,500/mt today.

The most-liquid SHFE 2103 tin contract fell 0.66% at 157,610 yuan/mt on Thursday night. The guidance provided by LME tin will be monitored today. Pressure above will be seen from 160,000 yuan/mt today. Support below will be seen from 155,000 yuan/mt today.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or for more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn
For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn
Related News
Nuode Reports 113.33% Revenue Growth, Turns Profitable with H1 Net Income of 103M Yuan
3 hours ago
Nuode Reports 113.33% Revenue Growth, Turns Profitable with H1 Net Income of 103M Yuan
Read More
Nuode Reports 113.33% Revenue Growth, Turns Profitable with H1 Net Income of 103M Yuan
Nuode Reports 113.33% Revenue Growth, Turns Profitable with H1 Net Income of 103M Yuan
Nuode (600110) disclosed its semi-annual report on July 30. H1 revenue was 6.433 billion yuan, up 113.33% YoY;net profit attributable to shareholders of the publicly listed firm was 103 million yuan, versus a loss of 72.4329 million yuan in the same period last year, marking a turnaround to profitability YoY; basic earnings per share was 0.0598 yuan.During the reporting period, the supply-demand pattern of the lithium battery copper foil industry experienced a complete reversal:outdated low-end capacity continued to exit the market, the rollout of new capacity in the industry slowed down, and combined with the surge in demand from both power batteries and energy storage, copper foil processing fees bottomed out. Leveraging its differentiated product portfolio of ultra-thin lithium battery copper foil and high-end electronic copper foil, the company successfully achieved a turnaround to profitability, with overall profitability improving significantly QoQ and YoY.
3 hours ago
South Korea and Chile Sign MOUs to Deepen Lithium and Copper Supply Chain Cooperation
3 hours ago
South Korea and Chile Sign MOUs to Deepen Lithium and Copper Supply Chain Cooperation
Read More
South Korea and Chile Sign MOUs to Deepen Lithium and Copper Supply Chain Cooperation
South Korea and Chile Sign MOUs to Deepen Lithium and Copper Supply Chain Cooperation
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast held a summit in Santiago, and on Thursday the two countries signed five memorandums of understanding, including a mineral resources cooperation document aimed at deepening cooperation in the lithium and copper supply chains.Lee Jae-myung stated that the two countries are "natural and ideal partners" in the field of critical minerals. He pointed out that Chile is the world's largest copper producer and possesses the world's largest lithium reserves, while South Korea has global leading advantages in high-end industries such as semiconductors and power batteries.This mineral cooperation agreement elevates bilateral relevant cooperation to the ministerial level, and plans to expand entire industry chain cooperation for core resources such as lithium and copper, covering information sharing, technology cooperation, and personnel exchanges.
3 hours ago
Chile's Copper Production Rises 5.1% YoY in June, Reaching 447,294 mt
3 hours ago
Chile's Copper Production Rises 5.1% YoY in June, Reaching 447,294 mt
Read More
Chile's Copper Production Rises 5.1% YoY in June, Reaching 447,294 mt
Chile's Copper Production Rises 5.1% YoY in June, Reaching 447,294 mt
Chile's National Institute of Statistics (INE) said on Friday that copper production in the world's largest producer, Chile, was up 5.1% YoY to 447,294 mt in June.
3 hours ago