Swiss National Bank unexpectedly cuts interest rates, copper prices went down overnight

LME copper prices opened at $9008/mt and closed with a drop of 0.29% at $8963.5/mt last evening the low-end of $8918.5/mt and the high-end of $9022/mt. Trading volume stood at 27,000 lots. Open interest stood at 314,000 lots. The most active SHFE 2405 copper contract prices opened at 72920 yuan/mt and closed at 72560 yuan/mt last evening, down 0.43%, with the high-end of 73060 yuan/mt and the low-end of 72360 yuan/mt. Trading volumes stood at 64,000 lots and open interest stood at 211,000 lots. The Swiss National Bank unexpectedly boosted the US dollar. In addition, the number of people filing for unemployment benefits in the United States in the week to March 16 was 210,000, lower than the expected 215,000. This also boosted the US dollar and was negative for copper prices. In terms of fundamentals, from the supply side, warehouse receipts will be offerred for sale at the end of the week, and imported copper will arrive. It is expected that the demand for copper will increase significantly. From a consumption perspective, rising copper prices have continued to suppress downstream procurement demand. Only a small number of companies just need to purchase. As of March 21, SMM copper inventory across major Chinese markets stood at 395,000 mt, down 400 mt from Monday and 195,000 mt higher than the same period last year. Due to the influence of macro sentiment, copper prices will move at highs in the near future.