Copper prices rose in London on Thursday on hopes of further China stimulus and as prices rebounded from Wednesday’s slump, triggered by a knee-jerk sell off after Donald Trump won the US presidency.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 1.1% to $9,449 per metric ton by 0423 GMT. The contract fell to its lowest since Sept. 18 to $9,302 a ton on Wednesday.
The most-traded December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) fell 1.4% to 76,370 yuan ($10,644.35) a ton. Earlier in the session, it hit 75,520 yuan, its lowest since Sept. 23, tracking overnight losses in London.
“There’s market expectations China will ramp up its stimulus measures due to Trump’s victory to counteract the fallout from Trump’s proposed tariff plan on Chinese imports,” said a trader.
The US Federal Reserve is expected to further cut interest rates later in the day, which will likely support economic growth and metals demand and weaken the dollar, making greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies.
However, Donald Trump’s win spurred concerns that major electrification initiatives would be rolled back, dampening demand for metals, including copper, and that the global metals demand-supply balance could be impacted, causing potential price swings.
“I doubt if bulls will be interested in metals. Trump’s anti-China, anti-green and dollar-supportive policies will keep metals sliding,” said Sandeep Daga, a director at Metal Intelligence Centre.
Copper tumbles as Trump victory sparks fear over slowdown in energy transition
LME aluminium rose 0.8% to $2,635.50 a ton, nickel increased 1.2% to $16,315, zinc advanced 1.5% to $3,016.50, while lead eased 0.2% to $2,044 and tin rose 0.8% to $31,610.
SHFE aluminium rose 1.7% to 21,425 yuan a ton, nickel advanced 0.9% to 127,050 yuan, lead climbed 1.2% to 16,880 yuan, while zinc was nearly flat at 25,100 yuan and tin dropped 0.9% to 260,380 yuan.
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