A-share Evening Focus | Precious Metals Bull Market Continues! London Copper Breaks $12,000

1. London Metal Exchange (LME) copper breaks through the 12,000 mark for the first time! Citi warns: under a bullish scenario, it may reach $15,000 With severe mine stoppages and trade chaos related to US President Trump's tariff agenda, copper prices hit a new historic high, breaking the $12,000 per ton mark. This key industrial metal is expected to achieve its highest annual increase since 2009. At the London Metal Exchange (LME), copper prices rose by 0.9% to $12,031.50 per ton, continuing a strong trend of about 37% since the beginning of the year. Investors often see copper as a barometer of global industrial activity. The market currently expects, as traders rush to "outrun" potential tariff policies by shipping more copper to the United States, copper prices will further rise. Citi Group advises clients that, in a "bullish scenario" where the US dollar weakens and the Federal Reserve cuts rates further, copper prices may touch $15,000, prompting investors to enter the market more aggressively. 2. China's autonomous driving officially enters mass production! Beijing issues the first batch of L3 level vehicle-specific license plates On December 23, the first batch of L3 level highway autonomous driving vehicle-specific license plates were officially issued by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau's Traffic Management Bureau to three intelligent connected vehicles. This is the first batch of L3 level highway autonomous driving vehicle-specific license plates issued in the country. This marks the transition of China's autonomous driving vehicles from testing demonstrations to formal mass production, leading the way in the L3 level autonomous driving era and becoming a milestone event in the automotive intelligence process. Ping An Securities believes that the mass application of autonomous driving technology is expected. The commercialization process of intelligent driving is expected to accelerate in 2026. Although there are still many constraints on the operation conditions of L3 models, the approval of L3 models means progress in technology and policy for intelligent driving, laying a foundation for the subsequent commercialization process of intelligent driving. The commercial loop of intelligent driving in 2026 is expected to be further opened. (Continued in the next message)