LME copper prices opened at $8020/mt and closed at $7992/mt in overnight trading, a gain of 0.39%, with the low-end of $7965/mt and the high-end of $8048.5/mt. Trading volume was 17,000 lots, and open interest stood at 268,000 lots. The most active SHFE 2311 copper contract prices opened at 66620 yuan/mt and finished at 66500 yuan/mt last evening, up 0.02%, with the low-end of 66380 yuan/mt and the high-end of 66780 yuan/mt. Trading volume was 17,000 lots, and open interest stood at 138,000 lots.
On the macro front, the U.S. housing starts data released on Wednesday, though lower than expected, exceeded the previous value. In addition, Federal Reserve Governor Waller changed his tone and said that the Federal Reserve may need to continue to raise interest rates, but hinted that it supports staying on hold, and the U.S. dollar index rose. In terms of fundamentals, the overall market transactions in East China were relatively active yesterday, and the premiums rose accordingly. In addition, the warrants have not yet flowed into the market and are expected to gradually be offered for sale in the next two days. Inventories in South China have increased, and rising copper prices have reduced enthusiasm for transactions. But sellers still kept prices firm. On the consumption side, demand is expected to remain strong in the near term. Copper prices will weaken due to unstable market sentiment and high US dollar index.
