LIVE FUTURES REPORT 27/12: LME back with copper up; SHFE aluminium up

The three-month LME copper price rose $58.5 per tonne, or 0.8%, to $7,183.5 per tonne.

Although the most-traded February copper contract on the SHFE stood at 55,120 yuan per tonne, down 120 yuan, or 0.2%, from the previous session’s close, it is up 620 yuan per tonne from the opening price in the previous trading day.

“The stricter environmental protection rules and tighter copper scrap import policies are helping to support the copper price,” according to Galaxy Futures.

China imported 271,045 tonnes of copper scrap in November, down 17.3% year on year, according to the latest Chinese customs data.

Meanwhile, China’s new environmental protection tax law will come into effect from January 1, 2018, “This will bring changes for product prices and production scales, which will force enterprises to transform and upgrade,” according to Galaxy Futures’ daily report.

The most-traded SHFE February aluminium contract price increased 120 yuan, or 0.8%, to 14,730 yuan ($2,248) per tonne as of 10.00am Shanghai time.

“Aluminium capacity in Binzhou and Liaocheng city in Shandong province have been largely over the settled target,” according to a report published on the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) website.

“The environmental inspections and report should be issued in September and the involved capacities are already halted,” Binzhou-based aluminium smelter Shangdong Weiqiao said.

Shandong Weiqiao has shut down a total of 2.68 million tpy of aluminium capacity, according to an official statement it published on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SSE) on Friday August 11.

Lead up, others down

• The SHFE February lead contract price rose 30 yuan to 19,030 yuan per tonne, up 0.2% compared to its previous closing price.
• The SHFE February zinc contract price was down 60 yuan, or 0.2%, to 25,465 yuan per tonne.
• China’s refined zinc imports doubled in November from the previous month to 122,814 tonnes, while zinc concentrates imports rose 27% month on month.
• The SHFE May nickel contract price decreased 620 yuan, or 0.6%, to 95,010 yuan per tonne.
• The SHFE January tin contract price fell 530 yuan, or 0.4%, to 140,490 yuan per tonne.

Currency moves and data releases

• The dollar index was down 0.01% at 93.25 as of 10.33am Shanghai time.
• In equities, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.15% to 3,301.11.
• In data, the US S&P composite-20 HPI came in at 6.4%, higher than the forecasted 6.3%, and the Richmond manufacturing Index came in at 20, lower than the forecasted 22.
• In data today, US consumer confidence and month on month pending home sales change numbers are due out.