LONDON: Copper prices gained on Monday, breaching $9,000 a tonne, after the US Senate approved a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package and top consumer China boosted imports of the metal while its exports hit records. China, which accounts for about half of all metals demand, imported 4.7% more copper in January-February despite a recent spike in prices while exports grew at a record pace.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 1.3% to $9,013 a tonne by 1705 GMT. The price is within striking distance of a near 10-year high of $9,617 a tonne touched last month.
“The import data shows that China is still seeing strong demand. We are in a bull market and I don’t think there’s anything to stop copper going higher,” said independent analyst Robin Bhar.
Analysts at Citi ramped up their bullish bets on Monday, saying copper should reach $10,500 a tonne within three months as the gap between end-use consumption and mine supply reaches a record high.
The US Senate passed the relief plan on Saturday, a major milestone for the bill expected to boost the recovery in the world’s biggest economy. Copper is often used as a gauge of global economic health.
Spot treatment charges for copper concentrate in China slumped to their lowest in more than 10 years on Monday at $36.50 a tonne, according to an assessment by Asia Metals, underscoring tight feedstock for smelters. Platts quoted the treatment charges at $32 a tonne.
The premium of cash copper over the three-month contract eased to $20 a tonne compared to $70 a week ago. The high premium helped attract metal into LME-registered warehouses, with on-warrant stocks of copper jumping 27% to 65,925 tonnes in the last week.
A firmer dollar capped gains in the industrial metals after a spike in US bond yields triggered risk-off sentiment. LME aluminium fell 0.2% to $2,171 a tonne, zinc shed 0.5% to $2,787, lead fell 0.8% to $1,987, tin shed 0.9% to $24,220, nickel lost 0.9% to $16,385.
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