LONDON: Copper prices hit one-month peaks on Monday on optimism about global growth and demand, particularly in top consumer China, which increased imports of the industrial metal last month.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) traded 0.1% higher at $9,104 a metric ton in official rings after touching its highest since Dec. 12 at $9,150.
China’s imports of unwrought copper and copper products hit a 13-month high in December, rising nearly 18% year on year to 559,000 metric tons, customs data showed.
Another indication of stronger demand is the Yangshan premium, a closely watched indicator of China’s appetite for importing copper, which at $73 a ton has gained 70% since early November. “The economic backdrop is reasonably positive and improving said Dan Smith, head of research at Amalgamated Metal Trading.
“China’s trade data showed a decent surplus. Part of that is people rushing to send stuff to the US, but that’s not the whole story.” Analysts say worries about tariffs on imports to the United States after US President-elect Donald Trump takes office this month are behind some of the rise in China’s exports.
Also boosting sentiment was the monthly US jobs report on Friday, suggesting robust growth in the world’s largest economy. Looking ahead, traders are waiting for China’s loan and total social financing (TSF) numbers for December. Metals analysts use TSF as a gauge of industrial metals demand.
Elsewhere, aluminium hit a four-week high at $2,589.5 a ton on concern over sliding stocks in LME-registered warehouses, which have dropped 45% since May last year to 619,375 tons. Cancelled warrants — metal marked for delivery — at nearly 60% suggest more aluminium will leave LME warehouses over coming days and weeks.
Worries about tight supplies on the LME system have narrowed the discount for the cash aluminium over the three-month contract to about $13 a ton from more than $40 in December. Three-month aluminium was up 0.6% at $2,587 a ton, zinc gained 0.6% to $2,885, lead slipped 0.9% to $1,958 and tin eased by 0.1% to $29,850 while nickel advanced 0.7% to $15,775.
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