LONDON: Copper prices fell in London on Monday with some investors booking a profit as the metal was on track for its biggest monthly gain since April after a series of stimulus measures in top metals consumer China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 1.6% at $9,817 per metric ton by 1558 GMT after hitting $10,158, its highest since June 7. The metal, used in power and construction, is up 6.5% so far in September.
Chinese stocks surged on Monday as China’s central bank said it would tell banks to lower mortgage rates for existing home loans before Oct. 31, as part of sweeping policies to support the country’s beleaguered property market.
“The rally is once again at risk of running ahead of fundamentals. In addition, liquidity is probably low due to China’s Golden Week holiday and the LME Week,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
LME Week, the annual gathering of metals industry participants in London, started on Monday. The calendar end of the quarter, when some investors square their books, coincided on Monday with the last trading day in China before the week-long Golden Week holiday.
Copper got 46% of votes in an informal poll at Monday’s LME Seminar on which base metal is likely to have most upside.
Meanwhile, the global surplus rose to 527,000 tons of copper in January-July from 79,000 tons a year earlier, according to the International Copper Study Group.
In terms of long-term demand prospects, mining giant BHP said the world would consume an extra 1 million tons of copper a year on average until 2035.
On the supply side, Chile’s Codelco said its production and capital expenditure would rise in 2025.
LME nickel rose 3.4% to $17,570 a ton, zinc fell 0.2% to $3,083, lead lost 1.0% to $2,096.50 and tin climbed 1.8% to $33,465, while aluminium eased 1.6% to $2,603.
The International Lead and Zinc Study Group said the zinc market was on track for a deficit this year instead of previously expected surplus.
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