Both buying and selling sentiment declined on the last trading day, and the center of spot premiums for SHFE copper fell [SMM Shanghai spot copper]

SMM News on August 15:

       Today, the spot premiums for SMM #1 copper cathode against the front-month 2508 contract were reported at a range of 140-280 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 210 yuan/mt, up 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The SMM #1 copper cathode price ranged from 79,320 to 79,550 yuan/mt. According to the SMM #1 copper cathode methodology, SMM consistently quotes prices against the front-month contract. In the morning session, the SHFE copper 2508 contract repeatedly touched 79,000 yuan/mt, briefly reaching a high of 79,050 yuan/mt before starting to decline, and then fluctuated narrowly around 79,000 yuan/mt again. The SHFE copper 2509 contract briefly touched 79,000 yuan/mt before fluctuating above 78,900 yuan/mt. The price spread between futures contracts for the next month was in a BACK range of 20-60 yuan/mt. After the SHFE copper import loss for the front-month contract narrowed to 150 yuan/mt, attention is now on the arrival of imported copper.

       In the morning session, suppliers mainly quoted prices against the SHFE copper 2509 contract, with transactions in the range of 110-140 yuan/mt premium for brands like Dajiang HS and Zhongtiaoshan PC. High-quality copper, such as Jinchuan, was sold at a premium of 280 yuan/mt today, while Polish copper was sold at around a 170 yuan/mt premium. Trading sentiment was weak during the day, with both the shipping and purchasing indices declining. The purchasing sentiment for copper cathode in the Shanghai area was 3.12, and the selling sentiment was 3.09.

       Looking ahead to next week, after entering the SHFE copper 2509 contract period, with relatively small fluctuations in the price spread between futures contracts for the next month, it is expected that spot premiums will still be quoted around 100 yuan/mt. However, with downstream imports arriving at ports, mostly registered cargoes, it is anticipated that suppliers may have a mindset of selling off cargoes in advance, putting some pressure on spot premiums.