LONDON: Copper rose on Monday, as investors bought the dip after a volatile week, and the dollar turned softer.
The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed daytime trading up 1.84percent at 101,840 yuan (USD14,696.59) a metric ton.
The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange added 0.58percent to USD13,069.50 a ton as of 0700 GMT, sustaining above the USD13,000 mark.
Investors are buying the red metal after SHFE copper lost 7.70percent, the steepest weekly fall since July 2022, and the LME copper declined 1.24percent.
The US dollar turned softer, providing some support for the greenback-denominated commodities by making them more affordable for investors using other currencies. Copper’s gains on Monday also came as a part of a broader recovery in metals complex led by gold and silver.
Analysts expect the supply-demand fundamentals for copper to be unchanged. Unexpected mine outages and unevenly distributed refined copper stocks among regions due to the US tariff threat continue to underpin supply worries, while the metal remains central to electrification and the expansion of AI data centres.
“The (copper) market is set to remain undersupplied by 4–5percent, keeping prices supported despite the risk of a short-term pullback as inventories rise but remain unevenly distributed,” analysts at ANZ Research said in a note.
ising inventories, however, remained a focus for the market, while near-term demand was also in question as a nine-day Lunar New Year break in the biggest consumer market, China, is set to begin on February 15. Copper stocks in SHFE sheds climbed to 248,911 tons on Friday, the highest since March 2025, while stock levels in LME and Comex continued to rise.
Among other SHFE base metals, tin led gains, up 6.61percent. Aluminium rose 0.79percent, zinc climbed 0.20percent, lead nudged 0.18percent higher and nickel gained 1.45percent.
Elsewhere on the LME, tin was also leading the gains, rising 4.71percent, aluminium ticked 0.10percent higher, zinc added 0.43percent, and nickel climbed 1.02percent. Lead was the only metal to post a loss, down 0.08percent.
Comments