The situation in the Middle East continues to ease, and risk appetite rebounds, boosting copper prices [SMM Copper Morning Comment]

SMM July 28 News: Overnight, LME copper opened at $13,746/mt, consolidated at highs at the start of the session, climbed to $13,781.5/mt before its center shifted downward, then dipped to $13,704/mt, and finally moved sideways to close at $13,759.5/mt, up 1.09%. Trading volume reached 16,000 lots, and open interest reached 244,000 lots, down 1,039 lots from the previous trading day, indicating short covering. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2609 contract opened at 105,500 yuan/mt, immediately climbed to 105,640 yuan/mt, then its center shifted downward to dip to 105,060 yuan/mt, and subsequently moved sideways to close at 105,280 yuan/mt, down 0.31%. Trading volume reached 34,000 lots, and open interest reached 206,000 lots, down 26.83 million lots from the previous trading day, indicating short covering. On the macro front, Trump said he has enough patience to reach a new agreement with Iran and is in negotiations with Iran. Geopolitical tensions eased, and market concerns over rising energy prices fueling inflation abated. Risk appetite recovered, providing support for copper prices. On the fundamental side, supply side, the arrival of both domestic and imported supply inched up in the short term, easing the previous tightness of circulating supply. Demand side, pressured by high copper prices, downstream enterprises showed weak purchase willingness for production. Inventories, as of Monday, July 27, SMM copper inventories in major regions nationwide increased by 5,300 mt WoW to 117,200 mt. In summary, influenced by the recovery in macro risk appetite, copper prices are expected to drift higher in a narrow range today.