SMM Jan. 23:
Today, spot #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was at a discount of 300-120 yuan/mt against the front-month contract, with the average discount at 210 yuan/mt, down 75 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. SX-EW copper was quoted at a discount of 360-340 yuan/mt, with the average discount at 350 yuan/mt, down 120 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average price of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was 102,660 yuan/mt, up 1,865 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, while the average price of SX-EW copper was 102,520 yuan/mt, up 1,820 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.
Spot market: After the weekend, inventory in Guangdong continued to decline, mainly due to reduced arrivals. Although inventory decreased, the sharp rise in copper prices dampened restocking interest among both traders and downstream consumers, resulting in overall weak trading. Today, purchasing sentiment for copper cathode in Guangdong was 1.93, down 0.2 from the previous trading day, while selling sentiment was 3.59, up 0.15 from the previous trading day (historical data can be queried in the database). As of 11:00, high-quality copper was quoted at a discount of 120 yuan/mt against the front-month contract, standard-quality copper at a discount of 300 yuan/mt, and SX-EW copper at a discount of 350 yuan/mt.
Overall, the sharp rise in copper prices led to sluggish downstream purchasing interest and significant spot discounts, with little improvement expected in the short term.
