Imported Copper Transactions are Sluggish Owing to the Low SHFE/LME Copper Price Ratio

SHANGHAI, Dec 22 (SMM) - Yangshan copper premiums were quoted at $30-50/mt under warrants today, and the average premium was flat from the previous trading day, with the quotation period of January 2023. Quotes for the bill of lading stood at $25-45/mt, and the average premium was flat from the previous trading day, with the quotation period of January 2023. The quotation refers to the prices of goods arriving at ports in December 2022. Discounts of LME cash to 3M contract were $24/mt, and the import losses were about 700 yuan/mt over the SHFE 2301 copper.

The SHFE/LME copper price ratio remained almost unchanged from the previous trading day. The demand for imported copper was critically sluggish amid the huge import losses, and the market trading was subdued. However, the firm spot premiums in the domestic market boosted the downstream companies’ purchases, but those enterprises greatly lowered their offers of imported copper. The low spot premiums forced some sellers to delay the settlement of spots arriving at ports recently and combine them into the long-term orders in 2023.

The premiums of high-quality pyro-copper were around $50/mt under warrants, and mainstream pyro-copper and hydro-copper were quoted at $45/mt and $30/mt respectively. The high-quality copper under the bill of lading was quoted at $45/mt, and that of mainstream pyro-copper and hydro-copper were $38/mt and $25/mt respectively.