Copper Prices Stabilize at Highs, Trading Activity for Shanghai Spot Copper Improves Ahead of Holiday [SMM Shanghai Spot Copper]

SMM September 26:

Today, spot prices of SMM #1 copper cathode against the SHFE copper 2510 spot month contract were quoted at a discount of 70 yuan/mt to a premium of 60 yuan/mt, with the average price quoted at a discount of 5 yuan/mt, down 35 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; SMM #1 copper cathode prices ranged from 82,320 to 82,650 yuan/mt. In the morning session, SHFE copper fluctuated between 82,380 and 82,590 yuan/mt, with the inter-month spread basically flat, and import losses for the SHFE copper spot month contract quickly narrowed to within 800 yuan/mt.

Intraday, both purchasing and sales sentiment improved, with purchasing sentiment for copper cathode in the Shanghai region at 3.02 and sales sentiment at 3.09. In the morning session, suppliers quoted standard-quality copper at a discount of around 40 yuan/mt to parity. In the Changzhou area, transactions were first concluded at a discount of 40 to 20 yuan/mt, followed by continued price declines for some imported copper, which dragged down transactions of domestic prices. After entering the second trading session, some cargoes were traded at a discount of 70 yuan/mt, after which the transaction center returned to around a discount of 50 yuan/mt. Prices for non-registered cargoes fell significantly intraday to around a discount of 200 yuan/mt, while registered SX-EW cargoes were traded at around a discount of 100 yuan/mt.

Looking ahead to next week, with only two trading days remaining and the extended holiday period, some suppliers are expected to offload cargo at low prices early in the week, but some smelter supplies have already been booked, and the quoted price center is expected to rise.