LME copper prices opened at $8388.5/mt and closed at $8361/mt overnight, with the high-end of $8408/mt and the low-end of $8357/mt, a decline of 1.1%. Trading volume was 13,000 lots and open interest stood at 279,000 lots. The most active SHFE 2309 copper contract prices opened at 68990 yuan/mt and finished at 68960 yuan/mt overnight, with the high-end of 69490 yuan/mt and the low-end of 68920 yuan/mt, down 0.45%. Trading volume was 8,000 lots, and open interest stood at 122,000 lots.
On the macro front, initial jobless claims in the United States recorded 230,000 in the week ending August 19, the lowest in three weeks, indicating that the labour market remained tight. Market caution grew ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium. In terms of fundamentals, yesterday in east China, as many traders needed to purchase standard-quality copper with front-month invoice. Spot quotes were relatively firm, and the futures market rose. It is necessary to pay attention to the purchasing willingness of downstream processing companies. In south China, a large quantity of warrants were offered for sale, resulting in higher inventories than the same period last year despite a drop for 6 consecutive days. The downstream buyers purchased as needed, lowering spot quotes. In terms of consumption, copper prices are expected to have downward space, and most of the market players are in a wait-and-see state. Copper prices are expected to remain strong as the market is awaiting the Fed officials’ speech.
