December 20, 2024: Today, warehouse warrant prices were $50-64/mt, QP January, with an average price up $1/mt from the previous trading day; B/L prices were $46-60/mt, QP January, with an average price up $3/mt from the previous trading day; EQ copper (CIF B/L) was $8-22/mt, QP January, with an average price up $2/mt from the previous trading day. The quotations referred to cargoes arriving in late December and early January.
During the day, the SHFE/LME price ratio for the SHFE copper 2501 contract was around +184 yuan/mt, LME copper 3M-Jan was at C$73.99/mt, and the SHFE copper 2501-2502 spread was around C$43/mt. The SHFE/LME price ratio continued to improve compared to the previous trading day, creating significant profit margins for imports. Some traders intended to purchase B/L for cargoes arriving in early January, but market supply was scarce, with a few offers extremely high, making them unacceptable to downstream buyers. As a result, market transactions were limited towards the end of the week. For EQ copper, the market had slightly more offers than registered copper. When the price ratio was favorable, downstream buyers showed slightly higher acceptance of the offered prices, and transactions were moderate.
Currently, pyro high-quality copper warehouse warrant prices were $64/mt, mainstream pyro $57/mt, and hydrometallurgical $50/mt; high-quality copper B/L prices were $60/mt, mainstream pyro around $53/mt, and hydrometallurgical $46/mt; CIF B/L EQ copper was $8-22/mt, with an average price of $15/mt.
