The Shanghai Futures Exchange's (SHFE) warehouse warrants for copper futures fell by 4,468 tonnes day on day to 117,358 tonnes on March 11, leading to a week-on-week decrease of 21,338 tonnes or 15.38%, and an increase of 3,274 tonnes or 2.87% month on month.
SHFE copper price rose again to about Yuan 69,300/tonne today, while premiums of refined copper in China kept flat compared with last Friday. The rate hike expectations of the Federal Reserve are still the main focus for market participants. The February CPI data released this week will be the next key factor for copper prices. The bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10 may force the Federal Reserve to reconsider the impact of higher interest rates on the financial industry.
Copper concentrate TC has fallen from a peak of nearly $93/dmt in November 2022 to $78/dmt last Friday due to supply disruptions. Refined copper's social inventories began to fall due to improving demand. Many large processing enterprises are close to full capacity, preparing for the coming consumption peak season. Strong demand from photovoltaic, energy storage, and new energy vehicles industries is expected to further support copper prices.
As the Chinese government will release January to February economic data on March 15, market participants turned cautious today. Copper prices are expected to rebound after that as risks are released and demand supporting will come back to the stage.
Data Source: SHFE
Data Source: SHFE
Written by Edenlis Huang, huangting@mysteel.com
Edited by Ting Ao, aoting@mysteel.com