Copper Prices Stabilize at Low Levels, Delivery Warrants Yet to Be Released, Shanghai Spot Copper Premiums Rise [SMM Shanghai Spot Copper]

SMM November 19:

       Today, SMM's #1 copper cathode spot prices against the current month 2512 contract were quoted at a premium of 30-140 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 85 yuan/mt, up 15 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The SMM #1 copper cathode price ranged from 85,930 to 86,300 yuan/mt. In the morning session, the SHFE copper 2512 contract rose continuously from 85,800 yuan/mt to 86,130 yuan/mt before slightly paring gains. The inter-month price spread fluctuated between a contango of 30-10 yuan/mt, and the import loss for the current-month SHFE copper contract narrowed to within 600 yuan/mt.

       Intraday procurement and sales sentiment continued to improve. When copper prices fell below 86,000 yuan/mt, downstream procurement volume increased further, driving premiums higher. Procurement sentiment for copper cathode in the Shanghai region was 3.13, while sales sentiment was 3.26.In the morning session, suppliers quoted standard-quality copper at a premium of 30-70 yuan/mt, with Luzhou Fang, JCC, and others gradually traded at a premium of 60-70 yuan/mt. Zhongtiaoshan, Tiefeng, and others were quickly traded at a premium of 30 yuan/mt. However, some downstream buyers in the Changzhou region continued to drive down prices, resulting in some transactions at a low premium of 10-20 yuan/mt. Notably, delivery warrants in the Jiangsu region approached 40,000 mt. If these warrants are released subsequently, they will continue to impact premiums and discounts.

       Looking ahead to tomorrow, expectations of warrant releases prompted suppliers to sell actively today, which may suppress premiums tomorrow.