SHANGHAI, December 26 (SMM) –
LME was closed for the Christmas holiday on Monday. SHFE 2402 copper contract opened at 69130 yuan/mt overnight, with its session low and high at 68910 yuan/mt and 69230 yuan/mt before closing up 0.04% at 69090 yuan/mt. Open interest stood at 155,000 lots. On the macro front, due to overseas holiday, there is little overseas news, and the market is more in a wait-and-see mode. In terms of fundamentals, as of Monday December 25, SMM data showed copper stocks in mainstream areas of China decreased by 6,200 mt from last Friday to 50,400 mt, and also lower than 78,700 mt seen in the same period last year. The inventory decline was mainly due to the increase in direct shipments from smelters to downstream and modest downstream procurement. Continued inflows of imported copper and smelter sell-offs for cash flows at year-end will drive up total copper supply in the spot market in the last week of the year. Copper demand will decline this week after massive stockpiling last week. Under the influence of macroeconomic sentiment, copper prices are expected to be strong.
