Source: Golden Ten Data
New Zealand copper is emptying like never before, prompting copper goods to be transported to the US.
On Tuesday in the US market, New York copper futures surged 5.5%. Driven by bears, the most liquid contract trading prices had a huge premium over the benchmark prices in other markets.
The shortening occurred with the July contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Comex). The price of copper for Comex's July delivery jumped to an intraday high of $5.026 per pound (equivalent to $11080 per ton), just one step away from the record high of $5.0395 per pound set in March 2022, more than $1,000 per ton higher than the London Metal Exchange (LME) benchmark contract. However, the shorting of NZC's July contract did not last long on Tuesday. Since then, the contract's increase has narrowed markedly.
Michael Cuoco, head of sales for metals and commodities hedge funds at StoneX Group, said: “Short holders of spreads and futures are being squeezed.”
This also contributed to an unprecedented futures discount in the Comex market. The July contract was 29.25 cents more per pound than the September contract. Traders say the unprecedented squeeze prompted copper goods to shift to the US.
Cuoco said he expects futures traders with long positions to settle their long positions ahead of time to take advantage of huge futures discounts. “These are very valuable,” he said. We expect participants to settle profits or continue to hold positions at such high prices.”
Earlier, Goldman Sachs Group's Nicholas Snowdon (Nicholas Snowdon) warned that the entire copper market “will enter a state of extreme tension.” Copper prices are rising, preparing for a possible breakthrough.
It is said that due to soaring copper prices, thieves have targeted electric vehicle charging stations because the charging cable at every charging station contains copper. This trend is likely to cause concern for Elon Musk, as his Tesla supercharging station is being targeted by thieves. Electric vehicle blogger Teslarati says thieves are attacking Tesla supercharging stations in several states.