SMM March 13 News: Today, the most-traded BC copper 2504 futures contract opened at 71,170 yuan/mt and closed lower during the day. Overnight, the most-traded BC copper April contract opened higher with a gap and peaked at 71,220 yuan/mt, followed by considerable fluctuations in the futures market. During the morning trading session, the futures market surged after the opening but lacked upward momentum, causing the center to pull back as bulls exited. In the afternoon trading session, the most-traded BC copper April contract continued to give up gains as bulls reduced positions, hitting bottom at 70,590 yuan/mt and eventually closing at 70,650 yuan/mt, up 460 yuan/mt or 0.66%. The performance was mainly driven by bulls reducing positions, with open interest at 6,733 lots, down 613 lots from the previous trading day, and trading volume at 7,446 lots, down 1,712 lots from the previous trading day.
Macro side, the US February CPI grew 2.8% YoY, below the expected 2.9% and compared to the previous value of 3%. Core CPI grew 3.1% YoY, missing the expected 3.2%. The cooling inflation data eased market concerns about US "stagflation" and raised expectations for an interest rate cut. The US dollar index hovered at low levels, and supported by fundamentals, copper prices fluctuated strongly.
The SHFE copper 2504 contract closed at 79,330 yuan/mt. Based on the BC copper 2504 contract price of 70,650 yuan/mt, its post-tax price is approximately 79,835 yuan/mt. The price spread between the SHFE copper 2504 contract and the BC copper 2504 contract was -505 yuan/mt, with the spread remaining inverted and widening compared to the previous trading day.
