Chinese copper cathode market sees more deals
2024-03-25 10:28:45 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 25 Mar 24 - Dragged by gradually decreasing prices in the futures market, mainstream prices for copper cathode in the Chinese spot market decrease by RMB700/t (USD97.25/t) to RMB72,100-72,300/t (USD10,001-10,029/t) today and most consumers from downstream copper rod industry raise their purchase volumes. Insiders predict that mainstream prices of copper cathode in the domestic spot market would go up slightly in the following days.
A consumer in Tianjin said last Friday, "The copper price still stays at a high level at present and we mainly decide our purchase volume for copper cathode based on orders from downstream producers. In order to keep normal production at the coming weekend, today we purchase 4,500t of copper cathode at RMB72,100/t (USD10,006/t), RMB200-300/t (USD27.76-41.63/t) lower than the futures price as the SHFE price declines. The futures price for copper cathode stood at a relatively high level yesterday, when we purchased 1,800t of the material in the spot market at RMB72,800/t (USD10,114/t), about RMB300/t (USD41.63/t) lower than the futures price." The consumer disclosed frankly that they are cautious about refilling stocks currently given soft demand in the spot market.
With an annual consumption of about 700,000t, the consumer expects to consume about 72,000t of copper cathode in March, in comparison to the consumption volume of about 33,000t in February. They hold around 6,000t of copper cathode stocks at the moment.
A Jiangsu-based producer said last Friday, "We receive eight-nine enquiries today, much more than one-two enquiries yesterday. Today we sell about 1,000t of copper cathode at RMB72,190/t (USD10,019/t), a price which is no more than RMB100/t (USD13.88/t) lower than that in the futures market, but our price for about 450t of the material yesterday was RMB72,900t (USD10,117/t), about RMB150/t (USD20.82/t) lower than the futures price. Considering the increase of copper prices, we expect that this year's busy season for copper cathode would be later than previous years." Being optimistic about the market outlook of copper, the producer holds relatively more stocks now.
With an annual production capacity of 300,000t, the producer expects to have an output of 25,000t or so in March, a slight increase compared with the output of about 22,000t in February. They hold 3,000-4,000t of stocks now, much higher than the stocks of 500t at the end of February.
A consumer in Tianjin said last Friday, "The copper price still stays at a high level at present and we mainly decide our purchase volume for copper cathode based on orders from downstream producers. In order to keep normal production at the coming weekend, today we purchase 4,500t of copper cathode at RMB72,100/t (USD10,006/t), RMB200-300/t (USD27.76-41.63/t) lower than the futures price as the SHFE price declines. The futures price for copper cathode stood at a relatively high level yesterday, when we purchased 1,800t of the material in the spot market at RMB72,800/t (USD10,114/t), about RMB300/t (USD41.63/t) lower than the futures price." The consumer disclosed frankly that they are cautious about refilling stocks currently given soft demand in the spot market.
With an annual consumption of about 700,000t, the consumer expects to consume about 72,000t of copper cathode in March, in comparison to the consumption volume of about 33,000t in February. They hold around 6,000t of copper cathode stocks at the moment.
A Jiangsu-based producer said last Friday, "We receive eight-nine enquiries today, much more than one-two enquiries yesterday. Today we sell about 1,000t of copper cathode at RMB72,190/t (USD10,019/t), a price which is no more than RMB100/t (USD13.88/t) lower than that in the futures market, but our price for about 450t of the material yesterday was RMB72,900t (USD10,117/t), about RMB150/t (USD20.82/t) lower than the futures price. Considering the increase of copper prices, we expect that this year's busy season for copper cathode would be later than previous years." Being optimistic about the market outlook of copper, the producer holds relatively more stocks now.
With an annual production capacity of 300,000t, the producer expects to have an output of 25,000t or so in March, a slight increase compared with the output of about 22,000t in February. They hold 3,000-4,000t of stocks now, much higher than the stocks of 500t at the end of February.
