Copper prices rise on short-covering

LONDON: Copper prices rose on Monday as some traders rolled forward positions ahead of a contract expiry this week, helping the market to set aside weak data and worries about the property sector in top consumer China for now.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 1.9 percent to USD11,730 per metric ton in official open-outcry trading. Copper hit a record high of USD11,952 on Friday on worries about tight supply and then saw a sell-off amid renewed fears of the AI bubble bursting.

“Prices are set to remain choppy and volatile intraday into year-end and as we go into the first quarter,” said Alastair Munro, senior metals strategist at Marex.

Short or bearish positions on the LME were being cut or rolled over ahead of settlement on Wednesday, a trader said. About 39 percent of 165,875 tons of copper stored in LME-registered warehouses was marked as being prepared for delivery out.

Meanwhile, daily inflows to the Comex copper stocks, already at a record high, continued due to higher prices on Comex. The US excluded refined copper from the 50 percent import tariffs that came into force in August but kept it under review.

“As long as there is a significant arbitrage between the LME and CME, I expect to see material still flow into the US as traders capture those profits,” said Samuel Basi, founder of Perfectly Hedged, a risk management and trading consultancy. In top metals consumer China, data showed that the country’s factory output growth slowed to a 15-month low in November, while new home prices extended a decline. Adding to worries about China’s property sector, developer Vanke made a renewed effort to muster bondholder backing for an onshore debt repayment.

Among other LME metals, aluminium rose 0.4 percent to USD2,880 a ton in official activity, zinc fell 0.2percent to USD3,120, tin gained 0.2 percent to USD41,400, while nickel dropped 1.2 percent to USD14,410. Lead was down 0.6 percent at USD1,956 after hitting USD1,952 for its lowest since May.