LONDON: Copper prices climbed to their highest in a month on Wednesday, boosted by year-end trading, friendly sentiment for risky assets and arbitrage buying.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME), which was closed on Monday and Tuesday for public holidays, gained 1.2% to $9,683 a tonne by 1710 GMT. It earlier hit $9,706, its highest since Nov. 26.
“The trade is standing away, but some of the long-term players are still in this. I think they’re pushing things up for year-end valuations and you’re going to see no real resistance,” said Malcolm Freeman at Kingdom Futures.
European stocks were close to five-week highs and oil prices also rose.
An arbitrage opportunity between COMEX and LME copper also supported the metal, one Singapore-based trader said.
The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, however, ended daytime trading 0.2% lower at 70,200 yuan ($11,017.47) a tonne after scaling a one-month high on Tuesday.
Chilean miner Antofagasta has agreed to supply copper concentrate to some Chinese smelters at treatment and refining charges of $65 a tonne and 6.5 cents per lb next year, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.
China’s top copper smelters kept floor treatment and refining charges for copper concentrate in the first quarter of 2022 flat from the previous quarter, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
China aims to lower carbon emissions in the aluminium sector by 5% by 2025, the country’s industry ministry said on Wednesday.
Metals traded on the Shanghai exchange are expected to decline from this year’s highs but still find demand support from top metals consumer China and remain above pre-pandemic levels.
LME aluminium dropped 0.8% to $2,814 a tonne, retreating from a two-month high hit on Dec. 24, while zinc shed 0.4% to $3,504.
Nickel advanced 2.1% to a one-month high of $20,460, lead rose 0.4% to $2,287.50 and tin dipped 0.1% to $39,220.
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