Today, the most-traded BC copper 2602 contract opened at 92,000 yuan/mt, touched a low of 91,710 yuan/mt early in the session, then copper prices fluctuated upward to a high of 94,200 yuan/mt, before declining to finally settle at 92,690 yuan/mt, up 0.99%. Open interest reached 7,837 lots, an increase of 477 lots from the previous trading day, while trading volume reached 12,000 lots, down 79 lots from the previous session. On the macro front, LME copper registered warrants declined, and low inventory levels in non-US regions provided support for copper prices. US core CPI for December was slightly below expectations, and Trump urged an interest rate cut; although the market is betting against a US Fed rate cut in January, it remains optimistic about subsequent rate cuts. On the fundamentals, supply of high-quality copper and SX-EW copper is tight, while mainstream brands remain relatively stable. Demand side, downstream purchasing sentiment is cautious, with buyers mainly maintaining a wait-and-see approach.
The most-traded SHFE copper 2602 contract settled at 103,870 yuan/mt. Based on the BC copper 2602 contract price of 92,690 yuan/mt, its after-tax price is 104,740 yuan/mt, resulting in a price spread of -870 between the SHFE copper 2602 contract and BC copper; the spread remains inverted and widened compared to the previous day.
