Chinese spot price of 1# refined copper (Cu:≥99.95%) decreased by Yuan 517/tonne day on day to Yuan 69,189/tonne on December 29, according to Mysteel's assessment.
Specifically, spot prices of 1# refined copper in Shanghai under Mysteel's tracking decreased by Yuan 495/tonne day on day to average at Yuan 69,235/tonne, running in the range of Yuan 69,170-69,300/tonne. Moreover, its spot premium rose by Yuan 5/tonne day on day to a premium of Yuan 185/tonne.
Refined copper transactions remained subdued in China today. Copper prices dropped significantly but spot premiums became stable. As today is the last trading day of the year, only a few traders quoted in the Shanghai market during the early trading period. Standard copper (e.g. JCC) was quoted at a premium of Yuan 170-180/tonne, while premium copper was sold at a premium of Yuan 200/tonne. In the second trading session of the morning, transactions were still cold. It is expected that the market will return to normal after New Year's Day. However, inventory in Shanghai increased sharply on December 28, so the pressure on spot premium to rise again in the first week of 2024 is still relatively high.
The transactions of refined copper rods were still light in China's main markets today. Affected by the decline in copper prices, some large enterprises were more willing to replenish inventory and purchase, while most small and medium-sized cable enterprises had entered the holidays, so their trading enthusiasm was modest. Therefore, in terms of purchase volume, the overall transaction recovery was relatively limited. According to Mysteel's survey, small and medium-sized processing enterprises in East China received orders of about 200-400 tonnes today, while large enterprises maintained a medium level.
Secondary copper rod transactions in China remained sluggish today as the price spread between refined and secondary copper rods narrowed slightly. Most processing enterprises and traders entered the stage of closing accounts, and only a few traders purchased on dips. According to Mysteel's survey, most processing enterprises in South China received new orders of about 100 tonnes today.
Copper scrap transactions in China were dismal today. As copper prices plummeted, upstream suppliers fell into losses. Therefore, they were reluctant to sell and held a wait-and-see attitude. Due to the influence of polluted weather and year-end settlement, the production of downstream enterprises was stagnant. Coupled with the re-narrowing of refined/scrap copper price spread, the purchasing desire dropped to the freezing point.
Written by Claudia Jin, jinzheyuan@mysteel.com
Edited by Paula Xu, xuzhongping@mysteel.com