Copper prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange suffered their steepest fall in recent months during Asian morning trading on Wednesday, following a significant rise in deliverable red copper stocks on the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday.
Check Metal Bulletin’s live futures report here.
| LME snapshot at 02.33am London time | ||
| Latest three-month LME Prices | ||
| Price ($/t) | Change since yesterday’s close ($) | |
| Copper | 6,528.5 | -14.5 |
| Aluminium | 2,045 | -7 |
| Lead | 2,475 | -25 |
| Zinc | 3,095 | -17 |
| Tin | 19,400 | -125 |
| Nickel | 10,815 | -50 |
| SHFE snapshot at 10.32am Shanghai time | ||
| Most-traded SHFE contracts | ||
| Price (yuan/t) | Change since yesterday’s close (yuan) | |
| Copper | 51,170 | -1,390 |
| Aluminium | 14,370 | -250 |
| Zinc | 24,650 | -450 |
| Lead | 18,650 | -260 |
| Tin | 139,860 | -490 |
| Nickel | 87,580 | -2,870 |
Global copper premiums were largely unchanged in the week to Tuesday December 5 with spot market action minimal as market participants finalize 2018 annual contracts before the holiday season arrives.
Close to 2,000 copper and other base metals participants descended on Shanghai for the annual Asia Copper Week from Tuesday November 28 to December 1, an event at which participants traditionally gather to discuss long-term contracts for both copper cathodes and concentrates as well as to exchange views on the market for the year ahead. Metal Bulletin’s editorial team from Shanghai, London and Singapore present a wrap of the seven key things we learned at the event.
The US Midwest aluminium premium has again remained unchanged, with market participants saying that the spot market is dead as buyers focus on reducing inventory ahead of 2018.
Copper prices are expected to rebound in December, with a weaker dollar and expanding Chinese economy aiding the complex heading into 2018, INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a monthly outlook.
Brazilian exports of slab increased in November, while billet shipments fell, according to the country’s foreign trade ministry, MDIC.