Destocking exceeded 20,000 mt, Shanghai spot copper tightened, spot premiums continued to rise [SMM Shanghai spot copper]

SMM April 21 News:

       Today, the spot prices of SMM #1 copper cathode against the SHFE copper 2505 contract were reported at a premium of 150-200 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 175 yuan/mt, up by 45 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The price of SMM #1 copper cathode ranged from 76,470 to 76,630 yuan/mt. In the morning session, the SHFE copper 2505 contract briefly fell below 76,200 yuan/mt after reaching 76,300 yuan/mt, then continued to rise to around 76,400 yuan/mt, hitting a high of 76,470 yuan/mt before 11:00 AM. Near the morning close, the futures market surged to 76,690 yuan/mt as bulls increased their positions, closing at 76,630 yuan/mt. The price spread between futures contracts fluctuated between 150-170 yuan/mt. The LME copper was closed for the day, and there was no real-time data on import profit/loss.

      In the morning session, suppliers maintained last week's trading trend, quoting standard-quality copper at a premium of around 150 yuan/mt. At this time, Dajiang PC, Tiefeng, and Zijin were actively traded at premiums of 140-150 yuan/mt, while Jinchuan (plate) was traded at a premium of 160 yuan/mt before being pushed up to 180 yuan/mt by the market. During the main trading session, supply tightened, and trading improved, with standard-quality copper becoming scarce at a premium of 170 yuan/mt. Jinchuan and CCC-P were quoted at premiums of up to 200 yuan/mt. SX-EW supply was tight, with few offers; non-registered copper was traded at premiums of 50-70 yuan/mt. The price difference between copper cathode and copper scrap continued to narrow, as did the spread between non-registered and SX-EW copper.

      According to SMM data, destocking in the Shanghai region over the weekend amounted to 21,200 mt, mainly due to good outflows from warehouses and significant warrant outflows on Friday. Trading continued to improve during the day, and with the SMM Copper Summit taking place this week, spot suppliers are expected to have limited shipments, keeping spot premiums firm.