London copper rises for 5th day on hopes of China demand, US stimulus

Copper prices in London gained for a fifth straight session on Monday, buoyed by expectations of higher demand in top consumer China and hopes of additional US stimulus.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.1pc to $6,768.50 a tonne by 0702 GMT, while the most-traded November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed up 0.2pc to 51,520 yuan ($7,673.75) a tonne.

China will invest close to $900 billion over the next five years to develop the country's power grids, state media reported.

Power accounts for a majority of copper consumption in China.

"The market has faith on grid consumption, so demand will increase a little," said a China-based copper analyst, adding that prices might be under pressure when supply issues at copper mines are resolved.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin failed on Friday to reach agreement on a COVID-19 stimulus package, but talks will continue, Pelosi aide Drew Hamill said.

FUNDAMENTALS

The union of workers at Chile's Collahuasi copper mine has come to an agreement in labour talks with the mine operator, staving off the threat of a strike at the sprawling deposit.

The union of supervisors at Chile's Escondida mine rejected BHP's final offer in contract negotiations, but the company said it would meet again with the union in an effort to stave off a strike.

Yangshan copper premium picked up to $53.50 a tonne, its highest since Sept. 23. However, the premium was still far below its 2020 peak of $113.50 a tonne hit in May.

LME aluminium rose 0.7pc to $1,854 a tonne, zinc climbed 1.2pc to $2,463.50 a tonne while Shanghai nickel rose 1.4pc to 117,080 yuan a tonne.