Copper rises as Shanghai exchange stockpiles hit 12-yr low

Copper prices rose on Monday as stockpiles in Chinese exchange warehouses dropped to their lowest levels in more than 12 years, with a shortage of scrap metal boosting demand for refined copper.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.5% to $9,380.50 a tonne by 0420 GMT, while the most-traded October copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced 0.9% to 69,630 yuan ($10,768.29) a tonne.

ShFE copper inventories on Friday fell for the seventh straight week to 44,629 tonnes, their lowest since June 2009.

"Reduced scrap flow continues to propel consumers to buy cathode instead," ING analysts said in a note.

Tighter restrictions in China and supply disruptions limited supplies of scrap copper, forcing some users to switch to copper cathode for consumption.

Yangshan copper premium rose to $114 a tonne, suggesting improving demand to import the metal into China, and LME cash copper's premium over the three-month contract was at $11.25 a tonne, indicating tight nearby supply.

Chinese commodity producers and manufacturers have also been hit by widening power curbs, put in place to keep emissions in check.

ING analysts said the power crunch would support prices as it would lead to reduced supply, but also have a negative effect as it impacts semi-fabricating and downstream consumers.

Fundamentals

• LME nickel fell 1% to $19,200 a tonne and zinc declined 0.9% to $3,100.50 a tonne.

• ShFE aluminium dropped 1.3% to 22,890 yuan a tonne, nickel fell 0.5% to 144,7120 yuan a tonne while lead rose 1.2% to 14,480 yuan a tonne.

  • ShFE aluminium inventories on Friday rose for the first time in five weeks to 229,847 tonnes, easing supply shortage worries and pressuring prices.

• Belgium-based Nyrstar has cut zinc production at its smelter in the Netherlands because of the rise in electricity prices in Europe, the company said in a statement.