SMM Evening Comments (Jul 15): Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Closed All with Losses as Panics Weigh on Commodity Market

Published: Jul 15, 2022 18:00

Save

Shanghai nonferrous metals closed all with losses. Though most US Fed officers supported a 75 bps rate hike in July instead of 100 bps, which eased the market sentiment to some extent, the market players still expected tightening money policies, which has kept the US dollar index high.

SHANGHAI, Jul 15 (SMM) – Shanghai nonferrous metals closed all with losses. Though most US Fed officers supported a 75 bps rate hike in July instead of 100 bps, which eased the market sentiment to some extent, the market players still expected tightening money policies, which has kept the US dollar index high.

Shanghai copper fell 4.05%, aluminium lost 0.67%, lead slid 1.12%, zinc dropped 2.21%, tin declined 5.75%, and nickel shed 11.85%.

Copper: The most-traded SHFE 2208 copper closed down 4.05% or 2,260 yuan/mt at 53,480 yuan/mt, with open interest down 5,298 lots to 143,350 lots.

Overnight, US Fed officers supported a 75 basis point rate hike in July amid high inflation, and the US dollar index kept hitting new highs.

In the spot market, as of Friday July 15, SMM copper inventory across major Chinese markets increased 1,500 mt from Monday to 120,700 mt, up 2,600 mt from last Friday. Market players mostly quoted against SHFE 2208, and market transactions were limited. Standard-quality copper was in premiums of 200-220 yuan/mt, and good-quality copper in premiums of 220-230 yuan/mt; however, market reaction was muted, and traders had to lower the premiums below 200 yuan/mt.

Aluminium: The most-traded SHFE 2208 aluminium closed down 0.67% or 115 yuan/mt to 17,155 yuan/mt, with open interest down 6,520 lots to 153,381 lots.

Aluminium price was relatively resilient today amid the broadly falling metals prices, as aluminium prices have already dropped to the break-even point; while the demand side remained sluggish with the advent of seasonal low.

Lead: The most-traded SHFE 2208 lead closed down 1.12% or 165 yuan/mt at 14,620 yuan/mt, with open interest up 643 lots to 55,272 lots.

Lead prices dropped below the cost of secondary lead, and both primary and secondary lead smelters were less willing to sell with low prices. Coupled with less sources available in the market ahead of the delivery of SHFE 2207, most goods holders quoted with premiums, while the downstream inquired actively with intention to purchase on dips. Retail sales weakened today.

Zinc: The most-traded SHFE 2208 zinc closed down 2.21% or 490 yuan/mt at 21,720 yuan/mt, with open interest down 3,430 lots to 105,039 lots.

In the spot market, SMM zinc ingot social inventory across seven markets in China totalled 153,700 mt as of Friday July 15, down 3,000 mt from Monday July 11 and 5,200 mt from last Friday July 8. The premiums in Shanghai rose slightly amid falling SHFE zinc prices, though the consumption remained poor. The downstream purchased on dips, while the traders held firm to their offers amid relatively tight supply after the delivery of SHFE 2207.

Tin: The most-traded SHFE 2208 tin closed down 5.75% or 11,060 yuan/mt at 181,190 yuan/mt, with open interest down 8,616 lots to 41,232 lots.

Smelters quoted normally in morning trade, and mainstream smelters lowered the prices. The quotes from traders changed little from yesterday in terms of number and price level. Market transactions improved from a day ago, and the downstream was more willing to purchase amid falling tin prices.

Nickel: The most-traded SHFE 2208 nickel closed down 11.85% or 19,280 yuan/mt at 143,430 yuan/mt, with open interest up 2,087 lots to 91,187 lots.

Nickel prices slumped due to bearish factors from both the macro and fundamentals front. Market demand weakened further amid extensive production cuts of steel mills, coupled with the seasonal low. Pure nickel supply turned to be sufficient against sluggish demand. Since the macro front is without signs of animating, nickel prices could hardly rise significantly.

[Disclaimer: The above representation and data is based on market information SMM believes to be reliable at the time of acquiring as well as the comprehensive assessment by SMM research team, and any and all information provided in this article is for reference only. This article does not constitute a direct recommendation for investment or any decisions in any form and clients shall act on their own discreet and any decisions made by clients are not within the responsibility of SMM.]

Market

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

1 hour ago

Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (Sep 09)

The following table shows the ferrous and nonferrous metals movement on the SHFE and DCE on 09 Sep , 2026

1 hour ago

Cobre Secures Third-Party Ore Supply to Add 300 t/month of Copper Cathode at Sierra Atacama

Cobre Limited announced on September 9 that its Sierra Atacama operation in Chile has signed ore-purchase agreements with two third-party copper oxide miners in the Antofagasta region, with deliveries expected to ramp up from Q4 2026. The agreements are expected to supply approximately 50,000–75,000 tonnes of oxide ore per month grading 1.0–1.5% total copper, adding around 300 tonnes per month of copper cathode production. The additional production will be processed through Sierra Atacama’s existing SX-EW plant, which has installed copper cathode capacity of approximately 20,000 tonnes per year and is currently operating below nameplate capacity. As the purchased ore does not require Cobre to incur its own mining and development costs, the company said incremental costs will primarily comprise the ore purchase price and variable processing costs, including acid, power and reagents. Higher throughput is also expected to spread the plant’s fixed costs over a larger production base. The approximately 300 tonnes per month of additional cathode will be incremental to Cobre’s previously announced production targets, which remain unchanged. The company is continuing to stabilise underground production while preparing to transition toward a larger open-pit operation from 2027. Cobre said negotiations with additional regional ore suppliers are also underway, potentially providing further feed for the under-utilised SX-EW facility. The agreements represent a near-term increase in copper cathode supply from Sierra Atacama without requiring additional mining development or new processing capacity. At the initial expected rate, the third-party feed could contribute approximately 3,600 tonnes of additional cathode on an annualised basis. More importantly, it should raise utilisation of the existing SX-EW plant ahead of Cobre’s planned transition to expanded open-pit production in 2027. Further ore-supply agreements would provide additional upside to plant utilisation and cathode output.

1 hour ago

2 hours ago

Eldorado Produces First Copper-Gold Concentrate at Skouries, Grid Connection Expected in September

Eldorado Gold announced on September 8 that its wholly owned Skouries project in northern Greece has produced its first copper-gold concentrate, marking another major step in the transition from construction to operations. Commercial production remains targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. First concentrate was produced as part of the ongoing commissioning and ramp-up of the processing plant, following the introduction of first ore to the crusher in July. Key systems including crushing, grinding, flotation and tailings thickening are now operating successfully. The project currently has an ore stockpile exceeding 4.6 million tonnes above reserve grade, sufficient to support more than seven months of processing throughput and concentrate production. Temporary on-site power generation continues to support early operations, while connection to Greece’s national power grid is expected in September, subject to final inspections, testing and installation of metering equipment by the transmission authority. Skouries is expected to produce an average of 67 million lb of copper and 140,000 oz of gold annually over its mine life. The production of first concentrate confirms that Skouries has moved into the processing ramp-up stage after several years of construction. Attention will now shift to the pace of plant ramp-up, completion of the national grid connection and whether Eldorado can achieve commercial production as scheduled in Q4 2026.

2 hours ago