Copper prices rose on Friday as hopes grew that fresh stimulus measures in top metals consumer China would boost demand, while better-than-expected economic data from the United States and Europe also supported the market.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.5% at $8,172 a tonne, as of 0150 GMT.
It has gained 1% so far this week.
The most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 1.3% to 63,450 yuan ($9,259.66) a tonne.
China will add 19 new policies on top of the existing steps unveiled in May, including raising the quota on policy financing tools by 300 billion yuan ($43.69 billion), to support its COVID-hit economy.
The US economy contracted at a more moderate pace than initially thought in the second quarter as consumer spending blunted some of the drag from a sharp slowdown in inventory accumulation, dispelling fears that a recession was underway.
Copper claws higher on Chinese infrastructure hopes
The German economy grew in the second quarter, propped up by household and government spending and beating analyst expectations that saw it on the edge of a downturn, data showed on Thursday.
Peru, the world’s No. 2 copper producer, expects the price of the metal to fall to $3.40 per pound in 2023 from an average of $3.90 this year, according to forecasts from the economy ministry released on Thursday.
The dollar held firm ahead of a keenly awaited speech from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, which traders hope could offer clues about the central bank’s rate-hike plans.
LME aluminium was up 0.1% at $2,435 a tonne, zinc added 0.5% to $3,566, lead eased 0.2% to $1,971.5.
Shanghai aluminium fell 0.7%, zinc rose 0.9%, nickel gained 1.8%, lead was down 0.7%, and tin added 0.2%.
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