LONDON: Copper prices extended gains for a sixth session on Thursday as technical factors provided momentum and outweighed concern over U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff plans for top metals consumer China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.7% to $9,096 a metric ton by 1049 GMT after hitting its highest since Dec. 16 at $9,099.
The metal used in power and construction continues to recover from a five-month low of $8,757 touched on Dec. 31. This week brought support on the technical front as it broke above resistance from the 21-day moving average, which now supports at a major psychological level around $9,000.
The market, however, remains worried about how Trump will handle tariff policy after his return to the White House on Jan 20. During the election campaign Trump vowed to impose tariffs of 60% on Chinese imports, but there have since been conflicting reports on the level of potential tariffs.
CNN on Wednesday reported that Trump is considering declaring a national economic emergency to provide legal justification for a series of universal tariffs on allies and adversaries. On Monday the Washington Post said Trump was looking at more nuanced tariffs, which he later denied.
Copper edges up with support from tariff bets, weaker dollar
The Chinese yuan, meanwhile, has been hovering around a 16-month low, prompting some Chinese traders to buy copper to try to shield themselves from this weakness and uncertainty about the future, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
The Yangshan copper premium, which reflects demand for copper imported into China, reached its highest in more than a year at $73 a ton, against $43 two months ago.
In other metals, LME aluminium rose 1.5% to $2,537 a ton, zinc added 1.4% to $2,864.50, lead gained 0.2% to $1,942, tin edged up 0.2% to $30,110 and nickel was steady at $15,440.
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