Chinese spot price of 1# refined copper (Cu:≥99.95%) rose by Yuan 115/tonne day on day to Yuan 68,834/tonne on August 21, according to Mysteel's assessment.
Specifically, spot prices of 1# refined copper in Shanghai under Mysteel's tracking increased by Yuan 30/tonne day on day to average at Yuan 68,890/tonne, running in the range of Yuan 68,810-68,970/tonne. Moreover, its premium fell by Yuan 100/tonne day on day to Yuan 400/tonne.
Refined copper transactions in China keep decreasing with the rebound of copper prices. Spot premium in Shanghai market was quoted at Yuan 450-460/tonne at the beginning of the morning session. However, downstream producers held a wait-and-see stance as copper prices rose higher. Meanwhile, more imported copper arrived during the weekend, which eased the tight supply in the spot market. As a result, traders reduced the spot premium to Yuan 380/tonne. Overall, spot market activities were restrained by high prices. With the supplement of imported copper, refined copper spot premiums are expected to fall in the short term.
The trading volume of refined copper rods in China remained weak. Transactions in East China kept at 400 tonnes for small and medium producers and 600-700 tonnes for large enterprises. Although processing fees slightly fell with refined copper spot premium, the rise of copper prices still restrained end users' demand.
Secondary copper rod transactions in China remained light. Although the rebound of copper prices released some raw material supply in the market, copper scrap remained short. The delivery period in North China increased to 3-7 days and some traders extended the period to one month. The trading volume in South China reached 200 tonnes.
Scrap transactions in East China further improved. Some scrap holders began to earn profit and delivered actively while most still suffered losses and held the inventory. The raw material inventory of processing enterprises fell to an extremely low level, but producers remained cautious on procurements as the price advantage of secondary copper kept thin.
Written by Ting Ao, aoting@mysteel.com
Edited by Paula Xu, xuzhongping@mysteel.com