SMM News on May 16:
This week, copper prices experienced a trend of rising first and then falling, with an overall increase of 700 yuan/mt. The price of bare bright copper in Guangdong only rose by 200 yuan/mt. According to SMM, at the beginning of the week, some suppliers of secondary copper raw materials, concerned about the long-term fluctuating trend of copper prices, chose to sell at the price peak. However, traders of secondary copper raw materials did not increase their shipments as a result. Due to the previous supply shortage leading to high prices, they were unwilling to sell in large quantities at this time to avoid being driven down on prices by downstream buyers.
As the weekend approached, the easing of Sino-US trade relations pushed copper prices up, prompting traders of secondary copper raw materials to stand firm on quotes and sell. However, copper prices significantly corrected on Friday, causing panic selling among traders of secondary copper raw materials. Copper rod enterprises reported that the decline in copper prices on Friday, compared to the increase on Thursday, more significantly stimulated the procurement volume of secondary copper raw materials. This suggests that recent increases in copper prices may prompt suppliers to adopt a wait-and-see attitude and reduce their willingness to sell, while declines in copper prices will accelerate their selling.
This week, the inventory data of secondary copper raw materials from sample enterprises of secondary copper rod was 5,400 mt, up 650 mt WoW. If copper prices continue to fall, the supply of secondary copper raw materials in the market may gradually improve.
Looking ahead to next week, if copper prices maintain a fluctuating trend, suppliers of secondary copper raw materials are expected to continue maintaining low shipments.
