London copper prices rose on Monday to hover near the $10,000 per-metric-ton level, as market participants looked for more demand cues following a rally sparked by Chinese stimulus.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) advanced 0.4% to $9,985.50 per ton by 0217 GMT, aluminium increased 0.5% to $2,666 and zinc edged up 0.1% at $3,170.
LME lead climbed 0.6% to $2,161.50 a ton, tin increased 0.2% to $33,875, while nickel fell 0.8% to $17,840. Copper prices have been trading around $10,000 a ton, a key resistance level, as participants in top consumer China are away for a holiday and trading volume has been thin as a result.
A slew of Chinese stimulus announced in late September has pushed the whole base metals complex higher, with LME copper rising 6.4% last month in its best monthly gain since April.
However, as prices approached the $10,000 level, some market participants waited for China’s markets to reopen to see if physical demand is intact.
“Sentiment was particularly buoyant amongst Chinese attendees at LME Week in London. This contrasted with the relatively bearish mood by most of their Western counterparts,” ANZ analysts said in a note, referring to the annual gathering of metals industry participants in London in the week of Sept. 30.
Copper edges up at end of see-saw week
“This opens the prospect of further gains when Chinese markets reopen on Tuesday following the Golden Week (Oct. 1-7) holiday. Any sustained pick-up will likely hang on more concrete details of the fiscal stimulus measure the Beijing promised.”
LME copper inventories have been declining slightly since September, but are still nearly three times the level seen in May.
The LME cash copper contract traded at a $147.09-a-ton discount to the three-month contract on Friday, suggesting abundant near-term supplies.
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