Chinese spot price of 1# refined copper (Cu:≥99.95%) fell by another Yuan 690/tonne day on day to Yuan 68,309/tonne on February 3, according to Mysteel's assessment.
Specifically, spot prices of 1# refined copper in Shanghai under Mysteel's tracking decreased by Yuan 720/tonne day on day to average at Yuan 68,320/tonne, running in the range of Yuan 68,240-68,400/tonne. Moreover, its discount expanded by Yuan 20 day on day to Yuan 70/tonne today.
Refined copper transactions in China turned weak today. Although copper prices kept falling, the trading volume was limited. Mysteel expects that downstream demand will recover next week and spot discounts may shift to premiums when fabricators begin to restock.
The trading volume of refined copper rods in East China kept increasing. With the retreatment of copper prices, end users began to purchase and volumes reached 500 tonnes for large-scale producers. By contrast, South China's transactions declined daily as end users became bearish on copper prices and held a wait-and-see stance.
Secondary copper rod transactions in China were moderate. Goods with low processing fees were more popular and the delivery in South China reached 300 tonnes on average. Some producers will restart production next week and the trading volumes are expected to rise.
Scrap holders in China were reluctant to deliver due to the falling consecutive prices. Purchasing intentions from processing enterprises turned strong but the actual transactions were limited as prices were quoted lower than scrap holders' expectations.
Written by Ting Ao, aoting@mysteel.com
Edited by Paula Xu, xuzhongping@mysteel.com