LONDON: Shanghai copper hit a record high on Friday, supported by signs that copper concentrate supply will continue to be tight next year, while a weaker dollar also boosted sentiment.
The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 3.5 percent at 98,550 yuan (USD14,064.31) a metric ton at 0327 GMT after touching an all-time high of 98,590 yuan a ton earlier in the session.
The London benchmark also set a peak at USD12,282 on Wednesday, nearing the USD12,300 mark. Top copper smelters in China on Thursday refrained from setting guidance for copper concentrate processing fees for the first quarter of 2026, sources said, the fourth consecutive time the group has declined to do so as feedstock shortages push charges to record lows.
Meanwhile, China on Friday launched three venture capital funds to invest in “hard technology” areas, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The capital contribution plans for the funds have been finalised, each with more than 50 billion yuan (USD7.14 billion), according to the report.
The funds’ expected targets include firms focused on integrated circuits, quantum technology, biomedicine, brain-computer interfaces, aerospace and other key hard technologies and “soft” technologies would include internet services, all of which depend on the use of copper.
Investors still expect at least two more interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve next year, leading to continuing weakness in the US dollar, which hovered near the two-month lows hit on Wednesday. A weaker dollar makes dollar-priced metals more attractive to holders of other currencies. Elsewhere among SHFE base metals, aluminium was up 0.6 percent, and lead rose 0.6 percent. Zinc dropped 0.5 percent. Nickel gained 0.9 percent, but snapped a six-day winning steak on Thursday after hitting an eight-month high on Wednesday. Tin lost 0.14percent.
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