Copper rises as Chinese demand expectations add to speculative momentum

LONDON: Copper prices rose for a fifth consecutive session on Monday, edging closer to record highs as expectations of a seasonal pickup in demand in the world’s biggest consumer China sustained speculative buying.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.9% at $14,654 a metric ton by 0957 GMT, after touching $14,710.5, its highest level since September 10, when it hit a peak of $14,875.

Renewed speculative demand has pushed copper higher after funds cut their net long positions in Comex copper futures in a week to September 15 as the White House has yet to decide on refined copper tariffs, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.

The premium of US copper futures over LME prices widened but remained insufficient to encourage new physical shipments to COMEX copper stocks, which store 69% of 1-million-ton exchange-monitored copper inventories.

Expectations for inventory replenishment in China ahead of the country’s holidays on September 25 and from October 1 to 7 provided support for copper prices, while traders await this week’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The Yangshan copper, a gauge of Chinese demand for imported copper, finished last week at $124 a ton, its highest in nearly four years, although it eased to $119 on Monday.

Available copper stocks in LME-registered warehouses fell to 133,725 tons, daily LME data showed, after 9,600 tons of fresh cancellations in Asia.

This helped to widen the premium of the LME cash copper contract over the benchmark to $26 a ton from a discount of $86 on September 14.

Among LME metals, aluminium and zinc fell 0.1% to $3,286 and $3,917, respectively. Lead rose 0.3% to $1,927 after hitting its three-month high of $1,929.5, tin gained 0.3% to $53,610 and nickel added 0.5% to $16,270.