SMM October 21:
Today, SMM #1 copper cathode spot prices against the current month 2511 contract were quoted at parity to a premium of 100 yuan/mt, with the average premium at 50 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The SMM #1 copper cathode price ranged from 85,560 to 85,900 yuan/mt. In early trading, the SHFE copper 2511 contract pulled back from 85,750 yuan/mt, briefly touched a low of 85,480 yuan/mt, surged to 85,820 yuan/mt near the end of the first session, then fell back to around 85,600 yuan/mt. The inter-month price spread fluctuated between a contango of 40 yuan/mt and a contango of 10 yuan/mt. The import loss for the current month SHFE copper contract narrowed to around 800 yuan/mt.
Intraday purchasing and sales sentiment diverged; due to arrivals of imported and domestic cargoes, sales sentiment further rose, while copper prices remained high, and purchasing sentiment continued to decline. The purchasing sentiment for copper cathode in the Shanghai region was 3.02, and sales sentiment was 3.14.Standard-quality copper was quoted at a premium of 20 to 60 yuan/mt, after which the transaction center continued to pull back, with brands like Tiefeng, Zhongtiaoshan, and Zijin mostly trading around parity. High-quality copper premiums were also lowered compared to the previous day, in the range of 70-100 yuan/mt. Registered SX-EW supply was tight, while non-registered cargo transactions saw prices driven down, about 10 yuan/mt lower than the previous day.
Looking ahead, with copper prices remaining high above 85,000 yuan/mt, downstream purchasing sentiment is expected to struggle to improve, and transactions are anticipated to continue around the parity line tomorrow.
