Copper prices continued declining in futures and spot markets on July 24, primarily due to rising macro pressures from escalating Middle East conflicts and inflation concerns. However, global available copper inventory stayed imbalanced, with COMEX inventory keeping growing from record high levels but non-U.S. inventory tightening, supporting copper prices from the fundamental side.
Spot premiums also generally declined across major markets in China amid weak downstream demand, coupled with downstream stockpiling demand ahead of the weekend, leading to slightly improved refined copper spot transactions.
Mysteel's clean copper concentrate spot treatment charge (TC) index stood at -$157.2/dmt as of July 24, sharply falling week on week, as mined copper supply growth expected to remain slow while smelting demand staying robust. Copper scrap supply also stayed tight due to narrowing refined-scrap copper price spread and ongoing tax policy adjustments, together supporting copper prices from the raw material side.
Trading in China's copper semis markets generally increased on July 24, reflecting the release of rigid demand amid raw material price declines. Regarding end-use consumption, new energy, energy storage, and high-end electronics manufacturing provide structural support for copper consumption in China. Meanwhile, firm demand from sectors such as power and real estate is largely seasonal strength rather than expansion.
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