Copper rises on US stimulus and higher Chinese imports

LONDON: Copper prices gained on Monday after the US Senate approved a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package and top consumer China boosted imports of the metal while its exports hit records.

China, which accounts for about half of all metals demand, imported 4.7% more copper in January-February despite a recent spike in prices while exports grew at a record pace.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.5% to $8,851 a tonne by 1215 GMT. The price is down about 7% from a near 10-year high of $9,617 a tonne touched last month.

"The import data shows that China is still seeing strong demand. We are in a bull market and I don't think there's anything to stop copper going higher," said independent analyst Robin Bhar.

Analysts at Citi ramped up their bullish bets on Monday, saying copper should reach $10,500 a tonne within three months as the gap between end-use consumption and mine supply reaches a record high.

STIMULUS: The US Senate passed the relief plan on Saturday, a major milestone for the bill expected to boost the recovery in the world's biggest economy. Copper is often used as a gauge of global economic health.

TREATMENT: Spot treatment charges for copper concentrate in China slumped to their lowest in more than 10 years on Monday at $36.50 a tonne, according to an assessment by Asia Metals, underscoring tight feedstock for smelters.

Platts quoted the treatment charges at $32 a tonne.

PREMIUM: The premium of cash copper over the three-month contract eased to $15 a tonne compared to $70 a week ago.

INVENTORIES: The high premium helped attract metal into LME-registered warehouses, with on-warrant stocks of copper jumping 27% to 65,925 tonnes in the last week.

DOLLAR: A firmer dollar capped gains in the industrial metals after a spike in US bond yields triggered risk-off sentiment.

OTHER METALS: LME aluminium fell 0.1% to $2,174 a tonne, zinc gains 0.6% to $2,788, lead fell 0.3% to $2,007, tin shed 0.7% to $24,280, nickel lost 1.3% to $16,215.