The Chinese spot price of 1# refined copper (Cu:≥99.95%) increased by Yuan 14/tonne day on day to Yuan 68,718/tonne on January 5, according to Mysteel's assessment.
Specifically, spot prices of 1# refined copper in Shanghai under Mysteel's tracking increased by Yuan 35/tonne day on day to average at Yuan 68,800/tonne, running in the range of Yuan 68,750-68,850/tonne. Moreover, its spot premium rose by Yuan 100/tonne day on day to a premium of Yuan 255/tonne.
Refined copper transactions in China were dismal today. Due to the approaching weekend and stable copper prices, some downstream companies still had purchasing demand. However, during the early stage of trading, suppliers were cautious about quotations and premium copper was quoted at a premium of Yuan 250-320/tonne in the Shanghai market. In addition, as the price spread between different brands of standard copper reached Yuan 80-100/tonne, downstream companies turned to lower-priced standard copper. Therefore, suppliers reported that standard copper was sold quickly at a premium of Yuan 160-180/tonne but premium copper transactions were subdued. In the second trading session of the morning, some mainstream copper brands picked up to a premium of Yuan 270-300/tonne due to the supply shortage in the Shanghai market, but it was hard to make a deal.
The transactions of refined copper rods were flat in China's main markets today. Copper price rally and the further increase in copper rod processing fees in South China dampened the purchasing sentiment of some downstream enterprises. Therefore, only a few of them replenished the inventory based on rigid demand. According to Mysteel's survey, large processing enterprises in East China sold about 1,000 tonnes, while the turnover of some small and medium-sized enterprises decreased by 100-200 tonnes compared with yesterday.
Secondary copper rod transactions in China were tepid today as the price spread between refined and secondary copper rods changed moderately. Owing to tighter raw material supply, some enterprises were restricted in the price adjustment of finished products, which led to a slight weakness in transactions. According to Mysteel's survey, most processing enterprises in South China received less than 100 tonnes of new orders today.
Copper scrap transactions in China were light today. As copper prices edged up, the willingness of upstream suppliers to stock up was weak. In addition, traders remained cautious towards year-end. Moreover, the sales volume of finished products in downstream enterprises was sluggish, so their purchase volume control was stricter.
Written by Claudia Jin, jinzheyuan@mysteel.com
Edited by Paula Xu, xuzhongping@mysteel.com