SHANGHAI, Nov 22 (SMM) – Trading sentiment in the copper import market picked up significantly compared to the previous week. Yangshan copper premiums rose amid the narrower backwardation structure of LME copper and the higher premiums in the domestic spot market. With the continuous decline of cancelled warrants, the backwardation of LME cash to the three-month contract narrowed from $130/mt to a low of $14.9/mt. And after the delivery of the SHFE front-month contract, the traders pushed up the premiums.

The issue of customs restrictions on issuing invoices continued to ferment during the week, triggering market concerns about the shortage of input VAT invoices. The spot premiums soared for several consecutive days, hitting 2,200 yuan/mt on Friday. The import profit has also reached more than 2,000 yuan/mt, which has led to a gradual increase in the import premiums. The current cargoes available in the market are mainly B/L slated to arrive in early December. Mainstream pyro-copper was traded with the premiums of around $105/mt.