LONDON: Copper prices rose on Tuesday for the fourth session, buoyed by firm consumption data in China and more Chinese monetary support measures. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 1.2% at $8,371 per metric ton in official open-outcry trading.
“There is a short term uptick in the sentiment today,” said Dan Smith, head of research for Amalgamated Metal Trading. “The latest copper consumption data in China shows that demand has surprisingly held up. Investors who was downbeat before are now reassessing the scenario.” Chinese apparent demand of refined copper grew by around 9% in the first half of this year, even though the global market moved into surplus, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said on Monday.
Among other metals, lead prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) jumped to a more than 17-month high on Tuesday.
Thousands of tons of lead sold on the SHFE for delivery next month are expected to trigger a price surge as the current SHFE inventory is not enough to cover them and the physical market is tight.
Three-month LME lead rose 0.7% to $2,180 a ton after touching a two-month high. LME aluminium gained 1.3% to $2,172 a ton, despite inflows that sent LME stocks climbing to a one-month peak. Zinc advanced 1.5% to $2,353, tin gained 2% to $26,200 and nickel added 1.7% to $20,450.
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