US Tariffs Fluctuate Repeatedly, Copper Prices Fluctuate at Highs Amid Continued Destocking [SMM Copper Morning Comment]

SMM April 21 News: Last Friday night, LME copper opened at $9,136/mt, with the lowest intraday price touching $9,111/mt and the highest reaching $9,279.5/mt, closing at $9,264/mt, up 0.12%. The overall trend showed a fluctuating upward movement, with open interest at 282,849 lots. Last Friday night, SHFE copper 2506 contract opened at 76,110 yuan/mt, with the highest intraday price touching 76,200 yuan/mt and the lowest at 75,820 yuan/mt, closing at 75,900 yuan/mt. The overall trend showed initial fluctuations followed by a fluctuating downward movement, with a change of -90 yuan, down 0.12%, trading volume at 39,206 lots, open interest at 160,221 lots, daily increase in open interest at -3,262 lots, and daily open interest change rate at -2.00%. On the macro front, Trump criticized businessmen who oppose tariffs as not good at business but truly not good at politics, listing eight non-tariff "cheating" methods and naming Japan and the EU. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has begun discussing setting up a task force to urgently address the tariff hike crisis with China. Trump does not want tariffs to continue to rise and stated that an agreement with China would be reached within a month. US media reported that even Trump's "own people" are getting restless, secretly hoping the US Supreme Court would halt the tariff war. US media also reported over 700 protests across the US against the US government's large-scale layoffs of federal employees, agency cuts, and immigration policies. Amid repeated tariff policies, copper prices fluctuated at highs. On the fundamental side, recent market arrivals have been limited, and imported copper supplements are also scarce. Against the backdrop of active shipments, inventory continued to decline. This week, SMM is about to hold a copper industry conference, and it is expected that shippers will decrease, but coinciding with the peak period of long-term contract deliveries, spot premiums are expected to continue to rise. Overall, copper prices are expected to have limited upward momentum today.