SMM Mid-Day Comment: SHFE and LME Base Metals Mostly Fall, Ferrous Metals also Go Down, Oil and Dollar Outperform

According to SMM statistics, last week, aluminum ingot outflows from warehouses were 85,500 mt, down 18,900 mt.

Rebar futures market closed up 1.31% at 3,713 yuan/mt.

SHFE 2308 nickel contract opened at 169,210 yuan/mt at the night session on July 28, and closed at 171,910 yuan/mt, down 1,730 yuan/mt.

On Thursday, LME lead opened at $2147/mt, hit a session low of $2146.5/mt at the beginning and then shook up to $2175/mt, and finally closed at $2156.5/mt, up $11.5/mt, or 0.54%.

LME copper prices closed at $8,551/mt last evening, down 0.62%. Trading volume was 16,000 lots and open interest stood at 275,000 lots. The most active SHFE 2309 copper contract finished at 68,900 yuan/mt overnight, down 0.39%. Trading volume was 35,000 lots, and open interest stood at 184,000 lots.

Copper, as one of the bulk strategic materials, is an irreplaceable and important raw material in the national economy, having both commodity and financial attributes. China is the world's largest producer and consumer of copper semis. The application fields of copper semis continue to expand and the level of localisation continues to improve. The national 14th Five-Year Plan and high-quality development have put forward clear development directions and goals for copper-related industries. SMM analyses the future trend and main application fields of copper in China based on the current market supply and demand of copper in China and current policies.

Antofagasta completed negotiations on TCs under long-term contracts between July 2023 and June 2024 with South Korean LS-MnM smelter last week, which focused mainly on the supply and demand balance of global copper concentrate in the next two years.

SHANGHAI, Jun 15 (SMM) – LME and SHFE base metals closed with gains overnight

According to the website of the government of Gujarat, India, the Indian technology giant Tata Group signed an agreement with the government of Gujarat to build India's first lithium-ion battery factory.

The copper prices rebounded last week, and downstream orders slowed down compared with the previous week. According to SMM survey, after the copper price fell in May, cable companies actively scheduled production, especially the operating rate of large cable companies remained high.