Banking Crisis Weighed down Copper Prices

SHANGHAI, Mar 16 - LME copper closed at $8,573/mt overnight, a decline of 2.89%.Trading volume was 42,000 lots and open interest stood at 245,000 lots. The most active SHFE 2304 copper contract finished at 66,620 yuan/mt evening, down 3.15%. Trading volume was 63,000 lots and open interest stood at 139,000 lots.

On the macro front, Credit Suisse's stock price plummeted after disclosing "flaws" in its financial report. Investors once again worried about a full-scale global banking crisis. The US index rose overnight, which was negative for copper prices.

In terms of fundamentals, players in the spot market stood on the sidelines yesterday, the first day of the delivery of the SHFE front-month copper contract. It is worth noting that import losses narrowed due to the recent appreciation of the yuan. The market expects that the inflow of imported copper will increase after the delivery, and the supply of tradable goods in the east China market is expected to increase. The inventory in Guangdong has dropped sharply again, and the decrease in arrivals is the main reason. There was not much willingness of downstream buyers to purchase goods in the spot market. Transactions were relatively quiet yesterday. Due to the impact of the banking crisis, copper prices fell under pressure, and attention should be paid to the unfolding of the financial market.