LONDON: Copper prices rose on Friday with support from a weaker dollar and hopes that the growth in exchange stockpiles could be coming to an end, though a softer demand outlook in top metals consumer China kept the metal on track for a weekly decline.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.5% at $9,837.50 per metric ton by 1336 GMT.
It has declined 1% so far this week. September futures on Comex added 1.4% to $4.571 a pound. The US currency weakened, making dollar-priced metals more attractive for buyers using other currencies, after US producer prices rose moderately in June, strengthening the case for a September interest rate cut.
Copper inventories in the LME-registered warehouses were still hovering near their highest in more than 2-1/2 years after they nearly doubled since mid-May on an inflow to Asian warehouses.
But, according to the daily LME data, the on-warrant stocks declined to 190,500 tons after 5,900 tons were marked for delivery out, signalling that massive inflows could be coming to an end. Meanwhile, a set of data from China added to concerns that demand in the country was weak amid high prices for copper.
The metal, used in power and construction, is down 11% since reaching a record high of $11,104.50 on May 20, but is still up 15% since the start of 2024.
China’s data on Friday showed total imports unexpectedly shrank and hit a four-month low in June, while unwrought copper imports declined to a 14-month low.
The annual growth of outstanding total social financing (TSF), a measure of credit and liquidity in the Chinese economy, slowed to a record low.
“The prolonged crisis in the property sector does not show signs of bottoming out yet with little hope for recovery near-term,” said ING commodities analyst Ewa Manthey. “The low level of housing starts will continue to weigh on copper demand looking ahead, given the lag between starts and metals usage.”
LME aluminium rose 0.1% to $2,478.50 a ton, zinc dropped 1.4% to $2,918.50, lead moved 0.6% lower to $2,185.50, tin lost 2.8% to $33,690, and nickel added 0.9% to $16,945.
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