SMM August 20 Report:
Today, SMM #1 copper cathode spot prices against the current month 2509 contract were at a premium of 130-250 yuan/mt, with an average quote at a premium of 190 yuan/mt, down 5 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; SMM #1 copper cathode prices were 78670-78870 yuan/mt. In the morning, SHFE copper briefly touched 78660 yuan/mt near 78600 yuan/mt before extending its decline, closing at 78520 yuan/mt in the morning. The price spread between futures contracts remained in a backwardation structure, fluctuating B20-B50 yuan/mt. The import loss for SHFE copper narrowed to within 200 yuan/mt, and attention should be paid to subsequent import inflows.
Sentiment for both selling and purchasing increased during the day, with the purchase sentiment for copper cathode in Shanghai at 3.15 and the sales sentiment at 3.14. In the second half of the week, domestic smelter arrivals increased, and the center of high-quality copper also declined. During the morning trading session, spot premiums in Jiangsu region were driven down from 80 yuan/mt to 60 yuan/mt, after which it was difficult to find low-priced supplies. In Shanghai, the transaction center for standard-quality copper dropped, with Polish plates and JCC traded around a premium of 150 yuan/mt.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, it is expected that there will still be additional domestic supply, and recently, the BACK spread between months has shown signs of a slight expansion, indicating that SHFE copper spot premiums are likely to remain under pressure.
