Copper heads for 4th weekly gain as stockpiles fall

LONDON: Copper prices rose on Friday and were set for a fourth consecutive weekly gain as falling stockpiles pointed to a pickup in demand and traders anticipated healthy buying from top consumer China.

The metal was also buoyed by a rise in global equities and oil prices after a hair-raising plunge on Thursday.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was 0.5% higher at $5,791 a tonne at 1612 GMT, and up nearly 2% this week.

On Thursday it touched $5,928, the highest since Jan. 24 and nearly back to $6,343, the level seen on Jan. 16 just before the market was hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

"With coronavirus lockdowns easing in many parts of the world ... demand is rising, especially in places like China," said WisdomTree analyst Nitesh Shah.

Copper is moving in parallel with stock markets and more economic stimulus could push prices higher, he said.

STOCKS: On-warrant copper stocks in LME-registered warehouses fell by 5,275 tonnes to 125,325 tonnes, the lowest since Feb. 24.

Inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell by 11,782 tonnes to 128,131 tonnes in the week to Friday.

CHILE: Unionized mine workers in Chile, the world's top copper producer, said health should take precedence over output.

CHINA PREMIUMS: Yangshan copper import premiums are still well above February lows, but have fallen to $82.50 from $113.50 in mid-May.

CITI: "Given the near-term bearish signals, copper appears full priced at $5,750-5,800/t," analysts at Citi said in a note, adding that rising demand in China meant they were "firmly in the longer term buyers of dips camp".

ECONOMY: Euro zone industrial output fell the most on record in April, and Britain's economy shrank by a record 20.4% from March.

OTHER METALS: LME aluminium was down 1.2% at $1,582 a tonne, zinc was 0.9% lower at $1,988.50, nickel was flat at $12,660, lead added 0.9% to $1,755.50 and tin was 0.8% higher at $17,045.

All were lower over this week except tin.