Markets

Copper punches towards January peak, boosted by Chile fears

  • Copper on the London Metal Exchange has surged more than 40% since touching a 45-month low in March.
  • Momentum is really quite astonishing right now. Copper is within striking distance of hitting the January high and that is probably acting as a magnet to the market.
Published July 8, 2020

LONDON: Copper raced to its highest levels since January on Wednesday as speculators piled into the market, betting on further disruptions in top producer Chile and firm demand from the biggest consumer China.

Copper on the London Metal Exchange has surged more than 40% since touching a 45-month low in March, driven recently by fears that the COVID-19 pandemic will curb mine production in Chile.

Speculative money, especially from computer-driven funds, has recently been tracking bullish technical signals in copper, traders and analysts said.

"Momentum is really quite astonishing right now. Copper is within striking distance of hitting the January high and that is probably acting as a magnet to the market," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.

LME benchmark copper hit $6,223 a tonne, the highest since Jan. 21, before paring gains to $6,197.50 in official trading, a gain of 0.2%.

The 2020 high for copper was $6,343 on Jan. 16, which in turn was the strongest since May last year.

Chile's mining minister said his country was prioritising workers' health.

"We really need to see significant disruptions from South America in order to justify a move in copper back towards that January high... At that point, I think it will run out of juice because it's overbought, needs a correction and needs to stabilise," Hansen said.

SHANGHAI PRICES: The most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit its highest in more than 14 months helped by a bull run in equities in top metals consumer China.

CHINA COPPER: Domestic refined copper prices rose to their highest since March 2019 at 49,615 yuan a tonne, but the Yangshan copper premium was last at $92.50 a tonne, down from $102.50 a week earlier.

PRICES: LME aluminium advanced 1% to $1,651 a tonne in official activity, the highest since March 18, while zinc climbed 1.8% to $2,107, the strongest since Feb. 21.

Lead gained 0.2% to $1,831.50 after touching a four-month high of $1,839, nickel was flat at $13,465 and tin added 0.3% to 17,026.

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