The Shanghai copper cathode premium was higher in the week to Tuesday August 27, marking the fifth uptick this month largely due to emerging tightness in SX-EW availability, while broadly stagnant demand over the summer period has limited spot business in Europe and the United States.
SX-EW cathode brand price gap emerges End-use demand a missing factor for European premiums Subdued spot buying appetite hinders US premium Shanghai premium hits nine-month high The copper grade A cathode premium, cif Shanghai hit a nine-month high of $67-80 per tonne on Tuesday due to a narrower import arbitrage loss during the week and less available cargo in the Shanghai market. The cif Shanghai copper cathode premium rose by $6.50 per tonne at the midpoint on Tuesday compared with a week prior. "Traders bringing copper cathodes into China stood to lose less in the week ended on Tuesday August 27," a trader in Shanghai said. "On Thursday August 22 and Friday August 23 there were even some profits for a time to bring copper cathodes into China," The trader added that the lower arbitrage loss combined with the upcoming busy season in September and October bolstered the refined copper...