Report's Investment Rating - Not provided in the given content Core Views - This week, copper prices declined. The US copper tariff policy had two unexpected changes: a 50% tariff rate and implementation between late July and early August. This high - tariff and fast - implementation policy ended the ongoing export - to - US arbitrage path, increased price pressure on LME copper, and caused inventory to show an inflection point. Pay attention to the arbitrage opportunity of going long on SHFE copper and short on LME copper [4][86]. - The mid - year long - term contract negotiation settled at $0, severely hitting smelters' long - term profitability. Currently, domestic production remains high, and sulfuric acid and by - product profits barely cover losses, with an extremely unhealthy profit structure. On the demand side, the domestic off - season is deepening, spot premiums are falling from high levels, but due to the internal - external price difference, increased domestic exports lead to a weak expectation of inventory accumulation. The LME squeeze problem has eased, Asian warehouse inventories have increased, and premiums have declined [4][86]. - Copper prices saw a significant reduction in positions and a decline this week, indicating that most of the previous active long positions in the domestic market have left. There is still a lack of active short - selling power. It is necessary to monitor changes in LME copper. With insufficient domestic short - selling power and during the tariff game phase, macro expectations may continue to face pressure. Keep an eye on the progress of US copper tariffs. As copper prices closed in the negative on the weekly chart, continue to hold the strategy of selling near - month CALL options and buying far - month PUT options [4][86]. Summary According to the Table of Contents Macro - level - In June, the European manufacturing PMI remained stable. The eurozone's June manufacturing PMI preliminary value was 49.4%, unchanged from the previous month. Germany's manufacturing PMI rose 0.7% month - on - month to 49%, while France's manufacturing PMI declined 2% month - on - month to 47.8%. The US June S&P Global manufacturing PMI preliminary value was 52%, unchanged from the previous month. In June 2025, China's manufacturing PMI was 49.7%, up 0.2 percentage points month - on - month, remaining below the boom - bust line for three consecutive months. New orders and new export orders improved slightly in June, and the service industry PMI gradually stabilized [12]. - The high tariff rate and fast implementation ended the export - to - US arbitrage path. The market profited from the short - term price difference decline of COMEX copper and LME copper. The implementation of the US copper tariff increased price pressure on LME copper, and inventory began to show an inflection point [4][13][86]. Industrial Fundamentals Copper Concentrate Supply - According to ICSG data, in December 2024, global copper mine production was 2.096 million tons, a year - on - year increase of 4.96%. From January to December 2024, global copper concentrate production was 22.835 million tons, a year - on - year increase of 2.54%. The 2024 market had a surplus of 301,000 tons, compared with a shortage of 52,000 tons in the previous year. In April 2025, global copper mine production was 1.909 million tons, a year - on - year increase of 5.59%. From January to April 2025, cumulative copper mine production was 7.526 million tons, a year - on - year increase of 2.65%. In April 2025, the global refined copper market had a supply shortage of 38,000 tons, compared with a surplus of 12,000 tons in March. In the first four months of this year, the market had a supply surplus of 233,000 tons, similar to the surplus of 236,000 tons in the same period last year [21]. - In December 2024, China imported 2.522 million tons of copper concentrate and its ores, a month - on - month increase of 12.3% and a year - on - year increase of 1.7%. From January to December 2024, the cumulative import of copper ores and concentrates was 28.114 million tons, a cumulative year - on - year increase of 2.1%. In May 2025, copper concentrate data were generally lower than market expectations. In May, China imported about 2.4 million tons of copper concentrate, a month - on - month decrease of 18.09% and a year - on - year increase of 5.8%, slightly lower than the average monthly import of 2.485 million tons from January to May 2025 [27]. TC (Treatment and Refining Charges) - On July 11, the SMM imported copper concentrate index (weekly) was - $43.79 per dry ton, an increase of $0.46 per dry ton from the previous period. The CSPT group decided not to set a spot purchase guidance price for copper concentrate in the third quarter of 2025. In 2025, the long - term processing fee benchmark for copper concentrate was set at $21.25 per ton and 2.125 cents per pound [31]. Refined Copper Production - In June 2025, SMM's Chinese electrolytic copper production decreased by 3,400 tons month - on - month, a decrease of 0.3%, and increased by 12.93% year - on - year. From January to June 2025, the cumulative production increased by 674,700 tons, an increase of 11.40%. In July 2025, it is expected that national electrolytic copper production will further increase, with a month - on - month increase of 15,500 tons (1.37%) and a year - on - year increase of 122,200 tons (11.88%) [37]. Refined Copper Import Volume - In 2024, China imported 3.7388 million tons of refined copper, a cumulative year - on - year increase of 6.49%. In December 2024, imports were 370,400 tons, a month - on - month increase of 2.93% and a year - on - year increase of 18.88%. In 2024, China exported 457,500 tons of refined copper, a cumulative year - on - year increase of 63.86%. In December 2024, exports were 16,700 tons, a month - on - month increase of 44.06% and a year - on - year increase of 55.61%. In May 2025, China imported 292,700 tons of electrolytic copper, a year - on - year decrease of 15.64% [43]. Scrap Copper Supply - In December 2024, China's imports of copper scrap and waste were 217,500 tons, a month - on - month increase of 25% and a year - on - year increase of 9%. The cumulative import in 2024 was 2.25 million tons, a cumulative year - on - year increase of 13.26%. In May 2025, China's imports of copper scrap and waste were 185,200 physical tons, a month - on - month decrease of 9.55% and a year - on - year decrease of 6.63%. From January to May 2025, the cumulative import was 962,200 tons, a cumulative year - on - year decrease of 1.98% [47]. Scrap - to - Refined Copper Price Difference - This week, the operating rate of recycled copper rod enterprises was 25.45%, an increase of 0.66 percentage points from last week and a decrease of 3.05 percentage points year - on - year. The average price difference between scrap and refined copper rods this week was 991 yuan per ton, a decrease of 558 yuan month - on - month. Due to the decline in copper prices, recycled copper rod enterprises' raw material inventory was relatively abundant, and the number of operating days increased. The weekly finished product inventory of recycled copper rod sample enterprises was 5,450 tons, a month - on - month increase of 250 tons. The decline in copper prices significantly narrowed the price difference between scrap and refined copper rods, eliminating the economic benefits of recycled copper rods. Cable enterprises preferred to purchase refined copper rods from traders, and recycled copper rod enterprises faced increasing sales pressure [51]. Consumption - end - In 2024, from January to December, power source cumulative investment was 1.168722 trillion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 12.14%, and grid investment was 608.258 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 15.26%. In 2025, from January to May, power source cumulative investment was 257.782 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 0.39%, and grid investment was 203.986 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 19.8% [52]. - In 2024, in December, the monthly air - conditioner production was 23.695 million units, a year - on - year increase of 12.9%. From January to December 2024, the cumulative air - conditioner production was 265.9844 million units, a year - on - year increase of 9.7%. In 2025, from January to May, the air - conditioner production was 134.909 million units, a year - on - year increase of 5.9%. The monthly production declined month - on - month, and the year - on - year growth rate slowed down, indicating that the industry entered the off - season [56]. - From January to June 2025, automobile production and sales were 15.621 million and 15.653 million units respectively, a year - on - year increase of 12.5% and 11.4%. From January to June 2025, domestic automobile sales were 12.57 million units, a year - on - year increase of 11.7%. Among them, domestic sales of traditional fuel vehicles were 6.693 million units, a year - on - year decrease of 3.2%. In June 2025, new - energy vehicle production and sales were 1.268 million and 1.329 million units respectively, a year - on - year increase of 26.4% and 26.7%. The new - energy vehicle sales accounted for 45.8% of total automobile sales. From January to June 2025, new - energy vehicle production and sales were 6.968 million and 6.937 million units respectively, a year - on - year increase of 41.4% and 40.3%. The new - energy vehicle sales accounted for 44.3% of total automobile sales [61]. - In 2024, from January to December, the real - estate completion area was 737 million square meters, a year - on - year decrease of 27.7%, and the new construction area decreased by 23% year - on - year. In May 2025, the real - estate completion area was 184 million square meters, a year - on - year decrease of 17.3%, and the new construction area decreased by 22.8% year - on - year [63]. Other Elements Inventory - As of July 11, the total inventory of the three major exchanges was 424,300 tons, a weekly increase of 23,500 tons. LME copper inventory increased by 13,000 tons to 108,700 tons, SHFE inventory decreased by 3,127 tons to 81,500 tons, and COMEX copper inventory increased by 13,200 tons to 234,200 tons. Domestic exports to LME led to overall inventory accumulation. As of July 10, the domestic bonded - area inventory was 78,800 tons, an increase of 5,900 tons from last week [68]. CFTC Non - commercial Net Position - As of July 8, the CFTC non - commercial long net position was 39,604 lots, a weekly increase of 5,914 lots. The non - commercial long position was 80,843 lots, a weekly increase of 6,218 lots, and the non - commercial short position was 41,239 lots, a weekly increase of 304 lots. The speculation of a 50% tax rate on COMEX copper prices led to a rapid increase, with long - position holders adding positions and the net long position expanding [70]. Premium and Discount - As of July 11, the LME copper spot was at a discount of $21.57 per ton. The concern about LME copper squeeze was relieved, and the spot premium quickly changed to a discount pattern. With the increase in Asian warehouse inventories, the LME squeeze crisis eased. This week, copper prices declined, and downstream procurement sentiment improved, but due to the seasonal off - season, downstream orders improved limitedly. Shanghai's inventory decreased slightly this week, mainly consuming previously imported low - price goods. Next week, approaching the delivery date, holders will actively sell goods under the high monthly spread, and the SHFE copper spot discount will expand, but the discount range is expected to be limited. After the contract change, holders will start quoting at a premium of 150 - 200 yuan per ton, but actual transactions are unlikely to improve significantly [80]. Basis - As of July 11, 2025, the basis between the Shanghai Non - ferrous Average Price of Grade 1 copper and the continuous third - month contract was 400 yuan per ton [82].
铜周报：关税或超预期，铜价压力渐增-20250714
Zheng Xin Qi Huo·2025-07-14 05:35