Month-end trading sentiment weakened high-quality copper scarcity "elevated" premiums [SMM Shanghai spot copper]

SMM August 27 News:

       Today, SMM #1 copper cathode spot prices against the current month 2509 contract were at a premium of 80-260 yuan/mt, with an average quote at a premium of 170 yuan/mt, up 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; SMM #1 copper cathode prices were 79,420-79,670 yuan/mt. In the morning, SHFE copper 2509 contract briefly touched 79,470 yuan/mt before starting to decline, reaching a low of 79,330 yuan/mt around 11:00 AM. The price spread between futures contracts remained near zero, and the import loss for SHFE copper was around 200 yuan/mt; recent imports have been limited.

      Intraday sales sentiment slightly declined, mainly because some customers did not engage in cargoes with invoices dated next month. Downstream procurement remained just-in-time, and long-term contract cargo pick-ups exceeded spot orders. In Shanghai, the purchasing sentiment for copper cathode was 3.16, and the selling sentiment was 3.18. In the morning, mainstream standard-quality copper traded at a premium of 100-120 yuan/mt for cargoes with invoices dated next month. High-quality copper was in short supply, with quotes as high as a premium of 250-270 yuan/mt, and only a small amount of premium 200-230 yuan/mt was quickly sold out. Non-registered copper traded at a discount of 60 yuan/mt, and SX-EW copper from Myanmar and other sources traded at parity. In Changzhou, transactions occurred at a premium of 60-90 yuan/mt, with downstream just-in-time procurement being the main activity.

      Looking ahead to tomorrow, as the month-end approaches, market trading sentiment is expected to weaken further, and SHFE copper spot premiums are expected to remain stagnant.