Copper prices dropped on October 30, suppressed by concerns on demand growth and macro uncertainties. Market expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike in December increased, while the U.S. decision on whether to impose tariffs on refined copper remained undetermined. Going forward, close attention should be paid to how these two factors will affect copper prices.
China's refined copper spot trading declined further on October 30, despite falling prices. Traders reduced transactions toward the month-end, and limited available supply also dampened overall trading. Meanwhile, spot premiums remained elevated across markets on low inventory, further suppressing downstream procurement. Scrap trading also dropped, with constrained compliant scrap supply and elevated costs leading to weak market sentiment.
Mysteel's imported copper concentrate spot treatment charge (TC) index stood at -$245.33/dmt as of October 30, with recent declines slowing due to weakening smelting demand under severe losses. Recently, spot market trading has been subdued amid extremely low TCs and limited concentrate supply, and market participants have begun to focus primarily on the annual copper concentrate long-term contract benchmark TC negotiations.
Trading in China's copper semis markets improved on October 30, as falling raw material prices and the weekend boosted end-user restocking. However, overall demand remained mediocre based on rigid demand, with market sentiment generally cautious and a notable rebound in consumption unlikely in the near term.
