London copper hits near 7-1/2-yr high, set for weekly gain on recovery hopes

London copper prices hit a near 7-1/2 year high on Friday and were on track for a fourth straight weekly gain, with falling inventories, better prospects for coronavirus vaccines and hopes for global stimulus measures lifting sentiment.

Combined copper stockpiles in LME, ShFE, COMEX and Chinese bonded warehouses fell to 692,510 tonnes, their lowest since Oct. 12, driven by a drop in ShFE inventories that were near a six-year low of 96,766 tonnes, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 1pc at $7,477 a tonne by 0710 GMT, after hitting its highest since June 2013 at $7,489 earlier in the session. The contract was up 2.7pc on a weekly basis.

LME copper has leapt 71pc from the March low of $4,371 a tonne on hopes of global activities soon returning to normal following positive vaccine trial results, while global stimulus, a weaker dollar and a rebound in demand also boosted prices.

The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended up 2.1pc to 56,120 yuan ($8,528.88) a tonne, its highest close since January 2018 and posted a fourth straight week of gains.

"Falling inventories signal strong demand across the world. The market remains buoyed by fiscal stimulus measures," ANZ analysts said in a note, adding that U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's $2 trillion green energy plan, if implemented, could also strongly boost demand for copper used in wiring and electronics.

FUNDAMENTALS

LME nickel hit a one-year high at $16,465 a tonne, while ShFE nickel rose as much as 3.2pc to near a one-month high at 123,160 yuan a tonne.

LME aluminium advanced 0.4pc to $1,983 a tonne and ShFE aluminium closed up 1.7pc to 16,240 yuan a tonne.