Chinese spot price of 1# refined copper (Cu:≥99.95%) decreased by Yuan 202/tonne day on day to Yuan 68,871/tonne on January 3, according to Mysteel's assessment.
Specifically, spot prices of 1# refined copper in Shanghai under Mysteel's tracking decreased by Yuan 220/tonne day on day to average at Yuan 68,915/tonne, running in the range of Yuan 68,870-68,960/tonne. Moreover, its spot premium fell by Yuan 100/tonne day on day to a premium of Yuan 170/tonne.
Refined copper transactions remained slack in China today. Spot premiums in the Shanghai market continue the downward trend. Therefore, during the early trading period, premium copper (e.g. 3C-P, ENM) and standard copper were quoted at a premium of Yuan 240-260/tonne and Yuan 200-220/tonne, respectively. However, due to the arrival of imported copper, traders reported that it was difficult to make a deal at these prices. Subsequently, transactions picked up slightly at the premium of Yuan 180-200/tonne for mainstream copper brands. In the second trading session of the morning, standard copper was again lowered to a premium of Yuan 170-180/tonne.
The transactions of refined copper rods warmed up in East China but remained dull in South and North China today. The double downward trend of copper price and spot premiums had a certain stimulating effect on downstream consumption in East China. According to Mysteel's survey, small and medium-sized processing enterprises in East China received orders of about 500-800 tonnes today, while large-sized enterprises sold about 3,000 tonnes. However, the price advantage of copper rods in South China was not obvious, and the operating rate of downstream enterprises in North China has not recovered to the normal level. Therefore, most enterprises in these areas received orders of about 500 tonnes.
Secondary copper rod transactions in China remained sluggish today as the price spread between refined and secondary copper rods narrowed. Some cable companies had a demand for low-price replenishment, but the overall transaction volume did not increase significantly. According to Mysteel's survey, most processing enterprises in South China received less than 100 tonnes of new orders today, or even 0 tonnes.
Copper scrap transactions in China were subdued today. Low inventory of suppliers led to a shortfall in tradable goods. Some downstream enterprises quoted more actively in the morning. However, due to the narrowing of the price spread of refined/scrap copper, their profits decreased. In addition, the demand from most downstream enterprises was difficult to expand, so their purchasing tended to be conservative.
Written by Claudia Jin, jinzheyuan@mysteel.com
Edited by Paula Xu, xuzhongping@mysteel.com
