LONDON: Copper prices hit a two-week high on Friday and were on track for the strongest week in a month on a weaker dollar and hopes that economic stimulus in top consumer China will boost demand.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.2% to $9,228 a metric ton by 1017 GMT after touching $9,296 for its highest since Aug 30. Copper is up 2.6% over the week.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday urged authorities to strive to achieve the country’s annual economic goals amid growing pressure for more supportive policies.
Copper, used in power and construction, was also buoyed by a Bloomberg News report citing unnamed sources saying that China is poised to cut interest rates on more than $5 trillion of outstanding mortgages as early as this month.
“That gave the market the bullish tone over the last couple of days,” one metals trader said, adding that activity was thin on Friday because Chinese markets will be closed for the Sept. 16-17 Mid Autumn Festival.
Copper rises to over 1-week high on demand rebound in China
Copper has lost 17% since a May rally to a record high of $11,104, helped by speculative buying on potential shortages resulting from future demand.
With the price fall, which was mainly because of the unwinding of investor positioning, Chinese buying has picked up and there has been some restocking activity ahead of China’s long October holiday.
Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 45% over the past three months to 185,520 tons, the lowest since February.
The import discount for copper in China swung to a premium two months ago and has so far reached $65 a ton.
Analysts at Macquarie expect the global copper market to remain in surplus in 2025 and 2026. It expects prices to average $9,100 this quarter before recovering in the fourth quarter, subject to a decline in visible stocks.
In other metals, LME aluminium was up 0.6% at $2,428.50 a ton, lead lost 0.1% to $2,024.50, tin gained 0.8% to $31,680 while zinc was down 0.4% at $2,843.50 and nickel retreated by 1.3% to $15,920.
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