SHFE Copper Finishes with Losses (2016-10-13)

SHANGHAI, Oct. 13 (SMM) – On Wednesday’s night trading, SHFE 1612 copper started at RMB 37,990/mt and then dropped from highs twice with a session high level of RMB 38,150/mt. The contract fluctuated at around RMB 37,925/mt at the tail of trading, down as low as RMB 37,850/mt. SHFE 1612 copper finally closed at RMB 37,920/mt. Positions were up 1,286 to 204,000 and trading volumes were up 76,628 to 83,756 lots.

On Thursday, SHFE 1612 copper started at RMB 37,900/mt and then soared to RMB 37,980/mt. China’s foreign trade in September dropped, missing the expectation. Import was also much lower than expectation and decline of export was the largest since July. Moreover, imports of unwrought copper and cooper semis fell 26.09% YoY and 2.86% MoM. SHFE 1612 copper declined below the 5 and 10-day moving averages to RMB 37,580/mt with large amount of positions opening by shorts and positions closing by longs. The contract finally ended at RMB 37,630/mt, down RMB 320/mt. Positions rose 2,920 to 205,000 and trading volumes increased 37,440 to 198,000 lots. Positions of all SHFE copper contracts rose 1,204 to 466,000 with trading volumes up 49,014 to 333,000 lots. To sum up, SHFE 1612 copper moved lower with positions rising. US dollar moved firmly while crude oil dropped. China’s import figure in September was also soft.

SHFE 1612 copper should remain downward momentum on Thursday’s night trading and approach to the 60-day moving average. US initial jobless claims in the week ending October 8 will release on Thursday’s night but this will make little impact on US dollar index. Eyes should be on EIA crude oil inventory and API crude oil inventory on Thursday’s night trading.