Procurement and sales sentiment improved but buyers continued to drive down prices, Shanghai spot copper discounts continued to widen [SMM Shanghai Spot Copper]

SMM October 28 News:

Today, spot prices of SMM #1 copper cathode against the current month 2511 contract were at a discount of 120 yuan/mt to a premium of 10 yuan/mt, with the average price quoted at a discount of 55 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The SMM #1 copper cathode price ranged from 87,620 to 88,190 yuan/mt. In early trading, the SHFE copper 2511 contract briefly surged to 88,260 yuan/mt before starting to decline. Approaching 11 a.m., futures prices suddenly dropped to 87,720 yuan/mt, and then fell sharply to around 87,420 yuan/mt near the morning close. The inter-month price spread ranged between a contango of 50 yuan/mt and a contango of 20 yuan/mt, while import losses for the current-month SHFE copper contract approached nearly 1,000 yuan/mt.

Intraday procurement and sales sentiment improved slightly, mainly because suppliers offered cargo at low prices early in the morning session, leading to quick transactions after downstream buyers countered. The procurement sentiment for copper cathode in the Shanghai region was 2.81, while sales sentiment was 3.10.At the start of trading, suppliers quoted standard-quality copper at a discount of 100-40 yuan/mt. As Tiefeng, Zhongtiaoshan PC, and others were traded at discounts of 120-100 yuan/mt after counteroffers, market trading sentiment became slightly more active. However, SR-P and ISA were traded at discounts of 150-130 yuan/mt. High-quality copper supplies were tight during the day, with quotes mostly around parity. SX-EW copper was scarce, quoted at a discount of around 150 yuan/mt, while non-registered copper was quoted at a discount of around 200 yuan/mt.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, copper prices are expected to experience a slight correction, improving market procurement sentiment, but just-in-time procurement remains the dominant approach. Low-priced supplies are attracting traders to stockpile, and spot discounts for Shanghai copper are expected to have limited room for further decline tomorrow.