LONDON: Copper prices in London rose for the first time in three sessions on Wednesday with support from a weaker dollar, though concerns about demand in top metals consumer China and ample exchange stockpiles capped gains.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.4% at $9,911.50 per metric ton by 1451 GMT after touching $9,800, its lowest since July 3. US Comex copper futures gained 1.3% to $4.63 a pound.
China’s June inflation data missed expectations, while producer price deflation persisted.
“The inflation data shows that demand is not very good,” said Dan Smith, head of research at Amalgamated Metal Trading. Investors are watching next week’s key party leaders gathering for hints on policies to address a protracted property crisis, weak domestic demand and a sliding yuan.
There were also signs that China’s top copper smelters expected the supply shortage of copper concentrates, used in the production of refined copper, to ease slightly in the coming months as they agreed on third-quarter price guidance for processing charges which were higher than current spot levels.
LME copper, used in power and construction, was down 11% since speculative buying took prices to a record high of $11,104.5 on May 20. Signalling that appetite for imports of refined copper to China was lacking, copper stockpiles in LME-registered warehouses saw an inflow of the Chinese metal in June and, according to the daily data, reached 195,475 tons, the strongest level since October 2021. Ample availability of nearby supply pushed the discount for the LME cash copper over the three-month contract to a record high of $158 a ton.
As to the supply side, copper output by Chile’s Codelco edged up in May, and China’s CMOC said it planned to more than double copper output at its Congo mines by 2028. LME aluminium was 0.3% lower at $2,488.50 a ton, zinc rose 1.4% to $2,970.50, lead dipped 0.1% to $2,192, while nickel lost 0.7% to $17,025 and tin added 1.0% to $34,675.
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