The spot copper price on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was quoted at a discount on the last trading day, and it is expected to continue being quoted at a discount tomorrow. [SMM Shanghai Spot Copper]

Today, the SMM #1 copper cathode spot prices against the front-month 2601 contract were quoted at a premium of 80 yuan/mt to 320 yuan/mt, with the average price quoted at a premium of 200 yuan/mt, up 60 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; the SMM #1 copper cathode price ranged from 102,160 yuan/mt to 102,990 yuan/mt. As today was the last trading day for the SHFE copper 2601 contract, according to the SMM #1 copper cathode price assessment methodology, SMM consistently quoted against the front-month contract. In the morning session, the SHFE copper 2601 contract mostly traded between 101,300 yuan/mt and 103,150 yuan/mt, while the SHFE copper 2602 contract traded between 101,530 yuan/mt and 103,500 yuan/mt; the inter-month price spread was basically between a contango of 380 yuan/mt and 200 yuan/mt. The import loss for the front-month SHFE copper contract ranged from 1,560 yuan/mt to 1,770 yuan/mt.

During today's session, suppliers basically began quoting against the SHFE copper 2602 contract. At the start of the morning session, when the contango was 200 yuan/mt, suppliers quoted standard-quality copper at a discount of 120 yuan/mt to 80 yuan/mt, while high-quality copper such as Jinchuan (plate) was scarce and quoted at a premium of 10 yuan/mt. Subsequently, as the contango widened, suppliers intended to adjust their quotes, with standard-quality copper transacted at a discount of 250 yuan/mt to 200 yuan/mt, and high-quality copper such as Jinchuan (plate) transacted at a discount of 10 yuan/mt to a premium of 50 yuan/mt. Later, the inter-month spread narrowed slightly, but premiums and discounts remained basically stable.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, the Shanghai area is still in a continuous inventory buildup trend. Today, Shanghai inventory increased by 17,400 mt WoW from January 12, mainly consisting of warrants. Spot prices against the SHFE copper 2602 contract are expected to maintain today's premium and discount structure tomorrow, Friday.