LONDON: Copper and aluminium prices fell to their lowest levels in at least three and a half months on Monday, amid demand concerns in top consumer China and high inventory levels at warehouses.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange eased 0.2% to $9,286.50 per metric ton by 0950 GMT after hitting $9,233.5, its weakest since April 8.
Aluminium lost 1% to $2,328 a ton after hitting $2,326, its lowest since March 28, breaking below its 200-day moving average of $2,354. Metal markets were looking for signs that the Chinese government would take action to address the country’s prolonged property slump, the biggest driver of industrial metals demand.
However, last week’s key political meeting failed to lay our more policies to prop up demand for metals, said ING commodities analyst Ewa Manthey.
“Without further stimulus measures, there is little hope for a near-term recovery for the property and construction sector. We expect copper and other industrial metals prices to decline further in the near term to reflect a softer demand outlook in China,” Manthey said. China, however, surprised markets by lowering a string of major interest rates on Monday following last week’s weaker-than-expected second-quarter economic data.
Copper is down 16% since reaching a record high of $11,104.50 on May 20, and this has revived some physical buying in China. The premium to import copper into China rose to $9 a ton on Friday, the highest since April 15.
Chinese refined copper exports in June jumped about seven times compared to last year, while copper inventories in LME-registered warehouses, according to the daily LME data, are at 234,400 tons, the highest since September 2021.
LME zinc was down 0.9% at $2,749.50, lead fell 1.0% to $2,106.50, tin dropped 1.3% to $30,660 and nickel slipped 0.1% to $16,230.
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