Copper Prices Pull Back From Highs, Most-Traded BC Copper Contract Closes Lower [SMM BC Copper Commentary]

SMM February 17 News: Today, the most-traded BC copper 2503 futures contract opened at 69,730 yuan/mt, closed lower during the day, and operated below the daily moving average, with the lower shadow piercing through the 10-day moving average. On Friday night, the most-traded BC copper 03 contract opened lower with a gap and peaked at 69,890 yuan/mt. Subsequently, as bulls reduced positions, the futures market lost the 69,000 yuan/mt level and continued to decline. During Monday's morning trading session, the market fluctuated rangebound between 68,410-68,780 yuan/mt. In the afternoon trading session, the center of the most-traded BC copper 03 contract further shifted downward, bottoming at 68,230 yuan/mt and finally closing at 68,360 yuan/mt, down 860 yuan/mt or 1.24%. The decline was mainly attributed to bulls reducing positions, with open interest at 5,310 lots, down 104 lots from the previous trading day, while trading volume reached 12,416 lots, an increase of 2,575 lots from the previous trading day.

Macro side, the US January retail sales month-on-month rate released on Friday night recorded -0.9%, significantly below the expected -0.1% and the previous value of 0.7%, heightening market concerns about an economic slowdown. As market sentiment eased regarding the high uncertainty of US tariff policies, copper prices experienced a phase of correction from their highs.

SHFE copper 2503 futures contract closed at 77,030 yuan/mt. Based on the BC copper 2503 contract price of 68,360 yuan/mt, its post-tax price is approximately 77,247 yuan/mt. The price spread between the SHFE copper 2503 contract and the BC copper 2503 contract stood at -217 yuan/mt, maintaining a backwardation structure and narrowing compared to the previous trading day.