Copper Futures Edged up as Markets Turned to Risky Assets

SHANGHAI, Mar 28 - LME copper prices closed at $8,989/mt overnight, a rise of 0.49%. Trading volumes were 12,000 lots and open interest stood at 249,000 lots. SHFE 2305 copper contract finished at 69,400 yuan/mt overnight, up 0.33%. Trading volume was 27,000 lots, and open interest stood at 169,000 lots. On the macro front, USD/JPY rose to a relative high yesterday, as the authorities tried to curb concerns about the global banking system, which helped to ease market tensions. The market turned to risky assets, and the US dollar index fell.

On the fundamentals, As of March 27, copper stocks in Chinese markets tracked by SMM dipped 7,700 mt from last Friday to 192,300 mt, down 4,300 mt from 196,600 mt pre-CNY, and down 137,600 mt from a high post-CNY. This is still up 50,100 mt from the same period last year. The decrease in inventories in various regions over the weekend is mainly due to the fact that there is not much customs clearance of imported copper, and more domestic copper was sent directly to downstream enterprises. Meanwhile, consumption has also remained stable, and purchases have not decreased significantly.