Near the close, the center moved downward, with the BC Copper 2602 contract closing down 0.5% [SMM BC Copper Review].

Today, the most-traded BC copper 2602 contract opened at 88,830 yuan/mt and closed higher intraday. During the night session, BC copper surged to 92,510 yuan/mt after opening. The day session opened at the bottom of 89,430 yuan/mt, then maintained rangebound fluctuations at high levels. In the afternoon trading hours, copper prices' center dropped sharply as bulls reduced positions, eventually closing at 88,390 yuan/mt, down 440 yuan/mt, a decrease of 0.5%. Open interest reached 5,974 lots, an increase of 2,138 lots from the previous trading day, while trading volume reached 23,777 lots, up 14,325 lots from the previous session. On the macro front, although U.S.-Ukraine peace talks were reportedly close to reaching a security agreement, core differences such as territory remained. Domestically, China's Ministry of Finance clarified that it will implement a package of measures next year to expand fiscal spending, promote consumption, and stabilize employment to boost the economy. On the fundamentals side, supply remained tight as imported arrivals were low, while demand-side purchasing sentiment continued under pressure due to rising copper prices, resulting in an overall weak supply-demand dynamic. In terms of inventory, as of Monday, December 29, SMM's copper inventories in mainstream regions across China increased 10.95% WoW, with total inventories up 101,700 mt YoY.

SHFE copper contract 2602 closed at 98,860 yuan/mt. Based on BC copper 2601's closing price of 88,390 yuan/mt, its post-tax price was 99,881 yuan/mt, resulting in a price spread of -1,021 yuan/mt between SHFE copper 2601 and BC copper contracts. The spread remained inverted and narrowed from the previous day.