Approaching delivery, the contango structure widened, and sentiment for Shanghai spot copper transactions improved. [SMM Shanghai Spot Copper]

SMM November 13 News:

Today, spot prices of SMM #1 copper cathode against the current month 2511 contract were at a discount of 20 yuan/mt to a premium of 130 yuan/mt, with the average price quoted at a premium of 55 yuan/mt, up 5 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The SMM #1 copper cathode price ranged from 86,920 to 87,270 yuan/mt. In the morning session, SHFE copper fell significantly compared to the night session, dropping below 87,000 yuan/mt and hitting a low of 86,700 yuan/mt, before rising continuously to a high of 87,170 yuan/mt. During the morning trading session, the inter-month price spread fluctuated between contango 80 and contango 40 yuan/mt, with an extreme level of contango 100 yuan/mt. Import losses for the current month SHFE copper contract hovered around 900 yuan/mt.

Procurement sentiment improved during the day due to three factors: first, when copper prices fell below 87,000 yuan/mt, downstream buyers significantly supplemented new orders; second, as it was Friday, downstream procurement volume naturally increased; third, the approaching contract rollover and expanding contango structure prompted active downstream purchases against the current month contract. Procurement sentiment for copper cathode in Shanghai was 3.10, while sales sentiment was 3.24.In the morning session, suppliers quoted standard-quality copper at a discount of 20 yuan/mt to a premium of 30 yuan/mt, with discounted cargoes being quickly traded. Subsequently, as the inter-month contango structure widened, downstream buyers still sought to purchase at a discount, but suppliers' willingness to sell decreased. By the second trading session, market transactions were mostly concluded at parity or above. High-quality copper cargoes continued to command high premiums, with supply remaining tight. During the day, discounts for non-registered cargoes also narrowed upward, indicating improved trading sentiment.

Next week, under the contango structure, spot suppliers' quotes against the next month contract are expected to remain firm near parity.