BEIJING: Copper prices edged up on Friday, underpinned by supply concerns of the metal, which offset shifting investor expectations of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.2% to $8,482 per metric ton by 0421 GMT.
The contract is set to end the week little changed, after gaining 2.2% in 2023.
The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange nudged 0.1% up at 68,470 yuan ($9,552.04) per ton.
Copper will hit an average of $9,000 and $10,000 per ton in 2024 and 2025 as a result of tightening supply, analysts at CITIC Securities said in a note.
With declining growth from mine output, the global refined market will turn to a growing deficit from 2025 to 2027, from a 170,000 tons surplus this year, they added.
In top consumer China, copper stocks remained thin, partly contributing to a premium of spot buying at around 200 yuan per ton this week.
However, waning risk appetite after minutes from the Fed’s December’s policy meeting showed most policymakers agreed borrowing costs need to remain high for some time pressured prices.
Copper slips as firm dollar outweighs thin inventories
The market’s hopes that the Fed will start easing policy as early as March had boosted copper prices, often seen as an economic bellwether. Meanwhile, the dollar index dipped on Friday, making it less expensive to buy the greenback-priced metal.
LME aluminium was stable at $2,282 a ton, zinc added 0.2% to $2,542.50, nickel ticked 0.3% higher to $16,110, tin nudged 0.1% up to $24,865 and lead increased 0.6% to $2,053.
SHFE aluminium shed 0.3% to 19,225 yuan a ton, nickel declined 1.5% to 124,350 yuan, tin declined 1.4% at 208,860 yuan and zinc lost 0.9% to 21,235 yuan, while lead gained 0.7% to 16,090 yuan.
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