Copper price high but spot market trading weak

Though copper prices hit record highs on the London Metal Exchange (LME) Wednesday, trading in China's spot market is showing signs of weakness, Shanghai Securities News reported Thursday.

According to Myyouse.com, a Chinese website specializing in nonferrous metals information, the copper supply is adequate in the spot market with prices ranging from 67,850 yuan to 68,050 yuan per ton, which is considered a high-risk range by industry insiders, the newspaper said.

Guo Lixin, the website's analyst, told the newspaper the domestic copper market has shown weak signs for almost half a month mainly because of the market's cautious wait-and-see attitude. The higher the risk is, the less the procurement will be, he said.

Analysis showed that the high copper price may be triggered by the copper exchange trade fund, or ETFs, that opened trading on Dec 10. A large stock of copper ETFs may lead to short supply in the spot market, according to the news report.