US Dollar Index Remains High, Copper Prices Under Pressure Overnight [SMM Copper Morning Comment]

Overnight, LME copper opened at $9,882/mt, fluctuated widely at the beginning, reaching a high of $9,908/mt, then kept falling, dropping to $9,740/mt near the end of the trading session, and finally closed at $9,787/mt, with a drop of 1.6%. Trading volume stood at 19,000 lots, and open interest stood at 305,000 lots. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper contract (2407) opened at RMB 80,070/mt, reached a high of RMB 80,200/mt at the beginning, then fluctuated downwards, dropping to RMB 79,060/mt near the end of the trading session, and finally closed at RMB 79,570/mt, with a drop of 0.57%. Trading volume stood at 40,000 lots, and open interest stood at 175,000 lots. On the macro front, the hawkish signals previously released by the US Fed strengthened the US dollar index, putting pressure on copper prices. In terms of fundamentals, after a certain decline in copper prices, some downstream sectors moderately replenished their inventories, but due to concerns about the continuous decline in future prices, current stockpiling is only based on immediate needs. Additionally, some smelters are still under maintenance, together with some domestic mainstream smelters arranging copper cathode exports, easing the pressure of abundant spot supply. According to the SMM survey, as of Thursday, June 13, SMM nationwide copper stocks in mainstream areas of China decreased by 12,800 mt to 429,300 mt compared to Tuesday, which is 336,700 mt higher YoY. The prices are expected to be under pressure due to the strong performance of the US dollar index.