Copper prices rebounded in futures markets but slightly declined in China's spot market on July 9, with price fluctuations mainly caused by macro disruptions. The copper market fundamentals remained generally supportive, due to copper concentrate supply tightness, contracting non-U.S. refined copper inventory, and firm demand expectations.
Refined copper spot trading in China continued dropping on July 9, with spot premiums keeping growing across major markets, as limited refined copper supply and elevated premiums suppressed downstream procurement.
China's refined copper retail inventory notably declined as of July 9, primarily due to constrained shipments from domestic smelters and the approaching typhoon impacting China's refined copper import arrivals. Moving forward, inventory is expected to continue falling in the near term, amid limited warehouse arrivals and downstream procurement based on rigid needs.
Trading in China's copper semis markets slightly recovered on July 9. Refined copper rod and copper bar transactions increased as previous cautious end-users actively purchased raw materials amid low prices, while copper plate/strip and copper tube orders stayed mediocre. Meanwhile, due to limited available supply and scarce price advantage, secondary copper rod trading remained sluggish.
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