LME copper closed at $8,593.5/mt in overnight trading, a gain of 0.25%. Trading volume was 24,000 lots and open interest stood at 256,000 lots. The most active SHFE 2306 copper contract finished at 66,940 yuan/mt overnight, up 25%. Trading volume was 61,000 lots and open interest stood at 180,000 lots.
On the macro front, the US dollar index retreated after a surge as weaker-than-expected US economic growth in the first quarter was considered unlikely to prevent the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates next week. The market expects the US Fed to continue to raise interest rates. In terms of fundamentals, due to the approach of the Labour Day holiday and continuous declines in SHFE copper prices, downstream consumption remained brisk. Some enterprises stood on the sidelines amid concerns over further copper price declines. In addition, the loss of imports has been reduced to less than 100 yuan/mt, and the pressure on the inflow of imported goods has further increased. If copper prices continue to hover at low levels, it is expected that demand will grow in the short term.
Affected by the financial market, copper prices are relatively low. And it is expected that there will be no significant recovery in copper prices before the Fed's interest rate hike meeting.
