Chinese spot price of 1# refined copper (Cu:≥99.95%) increased by Yuan 98/tonne day on day to Yuan 69,264/tonne on December 27, according to Mysteel's assessment.
Specifically, spot prices of 1# refined copper in Shanghai under Mysteel's tracking increased by Yuan 120/tonne day on day to average at Yuan 69,230/tonne, running in the range of Yuan 69,190-69,270/tonne. Moreover, its spot discount rose by Yuan 120/tonne day on day to a premium of Yuan 5/tonne.
Refined copper transactions remained slack in China today, with prices increasing significantly as spot discounts turned to premiums. During the early trading period, mainstream copper brands such as JCC and 3C-P were quoted at a premium of Yuan 20-50/tonne in the Shanghai market. However, due to the approaching month-end, downstream procurement was still dominated by rigid demand. In addition, owing to the reduction of spots in the market, some traders were reluctant to lower the quotations. It is expected that the spot premium will be difficult to rise towards month-end.
The transactions of refined copper rods were subdued in China's main markets today because of the off-season of consumption at year-end. Copper prices fluctuated at high levels, which greatly suppressed end-users' consumption demand. In addition, downstream cable producers entered the year-end settlement period, so their replenishment demand was weak. According to Mysteel's survey, small and medium-sized processing enterprises in East China obtained orders of about 200-500 tonnes today, while large-sized enterprises sold about 800 tonnes.
Although the price spread between refined and secondary copper rods continued to widen, secondary copper rod transactions in China remained sluggish today. At the end of the year, the trading sentiment of end-users became increasingly cautious, and most enterprises focused on year-end collection and payment. According to Mysteel's survey, a processing enterprise in North China received new orders of about 150 tonnes today.
Copper scrap transactions in China were flat today. Due to the low spot inventory, upstream holders were discouraged from trading. In addition, the cold weather led to a reduction in the new scrap output in the market, making the supply of scrap relatively insufficient. The raw materials and finished product inventory in downstream enterprises was adequate, so the demand for raw materials procurement was low.
Written by Claudia Jin, jinzheyuan@mysteel.com
Edited by Paula Xu, xuzhongping@mysteel.com
