LONDON: Copper prices rebounded on Monday from two sessions of losses, buoyed by bargain hunting and increased risk appetite after the choice of fund manager Scott Bessent as US Treasury secretary. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) gained 0.8% to $9,043 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading.
“There’s the odd bit of bargain hunting going on. Some of these metals are looking quite cheap compared to a month ago,” said Dan Smith, head of research at Amalgamated Metal Trading (AMT).
LME copper has shed 11% since touching a four-month peak on Sept 30 as speculators liquidated bullish positions on disappointment over the pace of stimulus in top metals consumer China and worries that incoming US President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on China. In wider financial markets, global stocks rose and bond markets welcomed Trump’s selection of Bessent.
“It does seem to be a pro-risk rally today. The Treasury pick has reassured some people,” Smith said. He added that AMT’s model for copper, which seeks to replicate algorithmic trading patterns used by computer-driven funds, is likely to flip to bullish from bearish today if copper closes above the $9,000 area.
The most traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) closed 0.3% firmer at 74,160 yuan ($10,237.16) a ton. “While Trump’s import tariffs will be a headwind for demand prospects in the medium and long term, faster inventories drawdown in China and improving spot premium will be supportive in the weeks ahead,” said ANZ analyst Soni Kumari.
Copper inventories in SHFE warehouses have begun to erode during China’s peak consumption season, which spans November and December. LME aluminium gained 0.7% in official activity to $2,643 a ton after Russian aluminium producer Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium producer outside China, said it would cut output by more than 6%. In other metals, LME nickel was up 0.6% at $16,060, zinc climbed 1.4% to $3,009 and lead gained 0.9% to $2,041 while tin rose 0.8% to $29,150.
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