Today (Wednesday) Shanghai copper main month 2404 contract opened slightly higher in the morning, trading in a narrow range. As of 09:30, the quoted price was 68,920 yuan/ton, up 0.12% from the previous trading day. At the same time, the outer LME copper price was last quoted at $8,482 / ton at 09:30 Beijing time, slightly down 0.09%.
On the eve of the U.S. economic data, the market sentiment was cautious and the performance of U.S. equities was divided, leading to volatility in risk appetite. However, the strong rebound of international oil prices to a new high of more than one week has brought some support to the metal market.
On the domestic front, with the upcoming two sessions, the market is generally optimistic expectations. Hopes that the Chinese government will provide more clues on economic stimulus policy further boosted market sentiment. As a result, investment funds poured into the copper market, pushing prices higher. At the same time, growing confidence in China's economic recovery has further boosted market sentiment.
Despite copper's relatively solid underlying performance, inventories have continued to accumulate recently, especially in the first week after the holiday, when inventories unexpectedly rose to their highest level in nearly 11 months. At present, the total inventory has exceeded 181,300 tons, indicating that market demand has not improved as expected and is still weak. This has become one of the main factors restricting the rise of copper prices. However, given that the current total inventory is still far from the record high, copper prices have limited room to fall.
Looking ahead, copper prices are likely to remain volatile until there are clear signs of a pick-up in demand during the Chinese construction season. More commodity-intensive government stimulus is still needed to support demand growth in the short to medium term. Therefore, in the short term, copper prices are expected to continue to maintain a volatile pattern, and copper prices are expected to strengthen.
Changjiang Nonferrous metals network data show that domestic spot copper prices rose slightly. The Changjiang spot 1# copper price was 68800-68840 yuan/ton, with an average price of 68820 yuan/ton, up 60 yuan/ton from the previous trading day.
