Latest news with #ShFE
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Copper pushes to near three-month peak on weak dollar, speculators
Copper prices jumped to their highest in nearly three months on Thursday, propelled by a weak dollar, concerns about supply and buying by speculators after key technical levels were broken. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained 1.6% to $9,867 a metric ton by 1000 GMT, its strongest since March 28. "What is key for us is dollar weakness and that is trending lower, which is supportive for our space," said Alastair Munro, senior metals strategist at Marex. The dollar index sank to its lowest since early 2022 as concerns about the future independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve undermined faith in the soundness of the country's monetary policy. A softer dollar makes commodities priced in the U.S. currency less expensive for buyers using other currencies. The premium for the LME cash copper contract over the three-month rebounded to $200 a ton from $101 on Wednesday but down from $280 on Monday, its highest since November 2021. While traders expect deliveries of copper into LME warehouses to ease a tight situation, they have not yet materialised. "The market is still positioned short out of July and struggling to find offers this morning," Munro said. Copper buying was buoyant among Chinese participants, he added, noting that long positions and open interest are rising on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. The most-traded copper contract on ShFE rose 0.6% to 79,000 yuan ($11,022.74) per ton, its highest since June 11. LME copper has held below the $9,800 level for several months and a break above there on Thursday triggered automatic buy orders, a trader said. LME copper has gained 22% since hitting its lowest since November 2023 at $8,105 in April. U.S. Comex copper futures climbed 2.7% to $5.05 a lb, bringing the premium of Comex over LME copper to $1,277 a ton, its highest since April 28. Higher U.S. copper prices are based on expectations of U.S. tariffs being imposed on the metal, triggering a flow of metal to Comex warehouses. Among other metals, LME aluminium rose 0.5% to $2,575 a ton, lead gained 0.6% to $2,044, nickel added 0.8% to $15,190, zinc climbed 1.4% to $2,743.5, while tin rose 0.6% to $33,400. ($1 = 7.1670 Chinese yuan ) (Reporting by Eric Onstad Editing by Frances Kerry)
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Shanghai exchange looks to open domestic nickel contract to foreigners this year, sources say
By Hongmei Li, Pratima Desai and Lewis Jackson HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - The Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) is considering opening its domestic nickel futures contract to foreign investors this year, instead of launching a separate contract on its International Energy Exchange (INE), two sources with knowledge of the matter said. ShFE has been exploring a more internationally-accessible nickel contract since at least 2023 as part of broader plans to build its global presence and challenge the dominance of rival the London Metal Exchange (LME). Industry sources have said ShFE also wants to offer the market an alternative to LME nickel after a trading debacle in March 2022 when the LME contract was suspended for eight days, leaving the industry without a global pricing benchmark for the metal used in stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries. ShFE is organising a two-day meeting in Shanghai on Thursday and Friday for the metals industry where the nickel contract plans among other topics will be discussed, two other attendees speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters. Much of the global metals industry is currently only a short flight away in Hong Kong attending the LME Asia Week conference, which ends on Wednesday. Plans under consideration would see ShFE open up its existing domestic nickel futures contract to foreign investors registered under China's Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) programme, the sources with knowledge said. QFII status permits the international market to trade Chinese markets. China has about 900 QFIIs, a broker source said, adding that about 200-300 of the companies which have registered since September 2022 were mainly interested in commodities. In February ShFE opened several futures products to QFII investors including stainless steel and fuel oil. A senior ShFE official declined to answer questions on the topic when called by Reuters. ShFE did not immediately respond to questions emailed after hours. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) would need to approve any launch by the domestic exchanges. It has been pushing exchanges to internationalise futures contracts to attract overseas investors, according to another source familiar with the commission's thinking. Market confidence was shaken in 2022 when the nickel price rocketed to a record above $100,000 a metric ton and the LME cancelled all nickel trades on March 8, for which it was sued by hedge fund Elliott Associates. Others including CME and ICE have looked at creating cash-settled derivatives for nickel, while Abaxx Technologies launched a nickel sulphate futures this year. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Shanghai exchange looks to open domestic nickel contract to foreigners this year, sources say
By Hongmei Li, Pratima Desai and Lewis Jackson HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - The Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) is considering opening its domestic nickel futures contract to foreign investors this year, instead of launching a separate contract on its International Energy Exchange (INE), two sources with knowledge of the matter said. ShFE has been exploring a more internationally-accessible nickel contract since at least 2023 as part of broader plans to build its global presence and challenge the dominance of rival the London Metal Exchange (LME). Industry sources have said ShFE also wants to offer the market an alternative to LME nickel after a trading debacle in March 2022 when the LME contract was suspended for eight days, leaving the industry without a global pricing benchmark for the metal used in stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries. ShFE is organising a two-day meeting in Shanghai on Thursday and Friday for the metals industry where the nickel contract plans among other topics will be discussed, two other attendees speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters. Much of the global metals industry is currently only a short flight away in Hong Kong attending the LME Asia Week conference, which ends on Wednesday. Plans under consideration would see ShFE open up its existing domestic nickel futures contract to foreign investors registered under China's Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) programme, the sources with knowledge said. QFII status permits the international market to trade Chinese markets. China has about 900 QFIIs, a broker source said, adding that about 200-300 of the companies which have registered since September 2022 were mainly interested in commodities. In February ShFE opened several futures products to QFII investors including stainless steel and fuel oil. A senior ShFE official declined to answer questions on the topic when called by Reuters. ShFE did not immediately respond to questions emailed after hours. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) would need to approve any launch by the domestic exchanges. It has been pushing exchanges to internationalise futures contracts to attract overseas investors, according to another source familiar with the commission's thinking. Market confidence was shaken in 2022 when the nickel price rocketed to a record above $100,000 a metric ton and the LME cancelled all nickel trades on March 8, for which it was sued by hedge fund Elliott Associates. Others including CME and ICE have looked at creating cash-settled derivatives for nickel, while Abaxx Technologies launched a nickel sulphate futures this year. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Recorder
30-04-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Shanghai copper set to surge on dwindling stocks, traders say
SHANGHAI: Copper inventories on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) are expected to decline again this week, continuing the sharp drop and potentially triggering a price surge, according to four traders. The surge in the prices of ShFE copper, a key metal for China's vast manufacturing sector, will attract more metal to the exchange warehouses, making a complete stock depletion unlikely, traders said. Already, the tightness is showing in the Yangshan copper premium, a gauge of China's appetite for importing copper. It stood at $93 a ton on Monday, the highest since December 2023 and up more than 40% since January 2. Copper inventories on the ShFE dropped 32% to 116,753 tons last week, the steepest percentage decline on record, as local buyers took delivery of metal purchased during a price slump earlier this month. One of the traders said ShFE copper stocks could fall another 10,000 tons when warehouse stocks are released on Wednesday, two days earlier than usual because of public holidays in China from May 1 to May 5. Traders diverted copper to the US amid a threat of tariffs on US imports, leading to a slide in ShFE stocks and driving up prices on COMEX. This fuelled a surge in COMEX stocks to 137,759 tons metric tons on Tuesday, up 45% since January 2 and at their highest since December 2018. Copper rallies to one-month peak on signs of improving demand The tariff threat on US imports boosted prices on the COMEX, while the anticipation of higher prices attracted shipments to the US, elevating COMEX inventory. Consumers in China are struggling to secure supplies in an already tight Chinese market partly due to the US-China trade tensions, which have reduced a major source of scrap metal from the United States. Typically, copper prices on the ShFE are higher than on COMEX due to differences in supply and demand in China and the US and other factors like freight and taxes. But for much of the time since mid-March, COMEX copper prices have been higher due to the buying frenzy in anticipation of import tariffs. Traders expect the price relationship to revert to normal as the need to replenish Chinese inventories takes precedence. One trader said the prospect of higher prices on ShFE could also draw metal stored in Shanghai's bonded warehouses . Stocks sat at 75,500 tons on April 24, down 5% week-on-week but nearly five times January 16's low of 15,200 tons.
