LIVE FUTURES REPORT 23/05: SHFE copper prices outperform; other metals mostly weaker

The most-active July copper contract on the SHFE traded at 51,820 yuan ($8,131) per tonne as at 09.55 am Shanghai time, up 380 yuan per tonne from Tuesday’s close. Around 177,134 lots of the contract changed hands this morning.

A fall in the US dollar index overnight has put upward pressure on the red metal.

The US dollar index had dipped 0.45 in just two hours to 93.28 as of 17:00pm on Tuesday.

“The weak performance of the US dollar index is the major driver behind copper prices rebounding, and copper prices are expected to climb up further,” Citic Futures Research said.

In addition, positivity surrounding the cooling in trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies was broadly supportive for copper prices.

“The easing of US-China trade tensions and the falling US dollar index have lent support to copper prices,” Galaxy Futures said.

“However, in the spot market, consumers have begun to act cautiously following the rally in copper prices,” it added.

Falling stocks also underpinned the red metal’s price.

SHFE copper inventories decreased 11,021 tonnes week on week to 268,504 tonnes as of May 18. Overall LME nickel stocks were at 300,175 tonnes on May 22, down a net 2,725 tonnes since Monday.

Tin buoyed; other base metals prices fall

• The SHFE July zinc contract price fell 5 yuan per tonne to 23,580 yuan per tonne.
• The SHFE July lead contract price was down 130 yuan per tonne to 19,555 yuan per tonne.
• The SHFE September tin contract price was up 100 yuan per tonne to 145,900 yuan per tonne.
• The SHFE July aluminium contract price was down 5 yuan per tonne to 14,605 yuan per tonne.
• The SHFE July nickel contract price was down 520 yuan per tonne to 107,730 yuan per tonne.

Currency moves and data releases

• The dollar index was up 0.1% to 93.66 as of 9.55 am Shanghai time.
• In other commodities, the Brent crude oil spot price decreased 0.6% to $78.94 per barrel, and the Texas light sweet crude oil spot price was down 0.49% to $71.81 as of 10.33 am Shanghai time.
• In equities, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.53% to 3,197.27 as of 10.48 am Shanghai time.
• Later we have releases from the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes, the Office for National Statistics in the UK and the Energy Information Administration in the United States.