LONDON: Copper prices rose to their highest in a month on Wednesday, with other industrial metals also climbing after top consumer China announced measures to shore up its property sector.
Further price support came from signs of tight supply, with stocks of most metals in London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses falling and contracts for quickly deliverable material trading at a premium.
Benchmark copper on the LME was up 1.1% at $9,812 a tonne by 1208 GMT.
The metal is up by about 25% this year after gaining 26% in 2020, though it has lost momentum in recent months as economic growth slowed.
China's support measures are helping, but not enough to rekindle copper's rally, said independent analyst Robin Bhar.
"I don't see anything at the moment to take us out of the $9,000-$10,000 range," he said. "We tested the downside and buyers are there, but there's stiff resistance at higher levels."
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Thanksgiving: Low trading volumes are expected heading into the US Thanksgiving holiday.
China: Regulators in China have told some banks to issue more loans to property companies, sources said. Officials this week said they would increase funding support for businesses to support the slowing economy.
Japan/Germany: Japan's factory activity grew at its fastest pace in nearly four years in November, but German business morale deteriorated for a fifth month running.
Yuan/Dollar: China's yuan has remained firm against the dollar even as the greenback has risen to its strongest against a basket of major currencies since 2020, making dollar-priced metals more expensive for non-US buyers.
Coal: Chinese coking coal futures surged more than 13%.
Peru: A road used by the Las Bambas copper mine has been blocked for four days in an ongoing dispute with local residents.
Tin: Indonesia could stop tin exports in 2024 as part of efforts to attract investment into the resource processing industry, President Joko Widodo said.
Prices: LME aluminium was up 1.2% at $2,700 a tonne, zinc rose 0.8% to $3,326, nickel gained 2.7% to $20,900, lead added 0.6% to $2,266 and tin was up 0.7% at $39,155.
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