First deliveries on China's bonded copper futures total 6,225 tonnes

The first deliveries of metal on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange's (INE) bonded copper futures saw a total of 6,225 tonnes worth 370 million yuan ($56.85 million) changing hands, the bourse said on Monday.

The yuan-denominated futures, which are open to overseas investors, were launched in November last year and are designed to eventually give China, the world's top copper consumer, more influence over pricing.

The front-month contract, for delivery in March, expired on March 15 and those who sold copper on it then had five trading days to fulfil the obligation to hand over metal to buyers.

Companies including global trading house Trafigura, Singapore-based trader Lobb Heng, the non-ferrous metals arm of state-run China Minmetals Corp, as well as Chinese smelters Jiangxi Copper and China Copper were involved in delivery, the INE said in a statement after the five-day period ended.

It did not detail the origin of the copper delivered or specify which firms were buyers and which were sellers. More than 50 copper brands are deliverable on the exchange.

"At this point, the international copper futures business processes have all gone through and various rules have withstood the test of the market," the INE said.

The delivery volume of 6,225 tonnes - in bonded warehouses in Shanghai - is only around 5% of the metal available in inventories on the more established copper futures operated by the INE's parent bourse, the Shanghai Futures Exchange, which are not open to international participants.

Other international contracts, such as London Metal Exchange copper, do not have warehouses in mainland China.

As of March 15, INE copper futures had recorded a cumulative turnover of 414.3 billion yuan, the INE said.