New York, July 24 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) rose on Monday on expectations that China will roll out more stimulus measures to revive economic growth, boosting demand for the metal.
As of the close, copper futures rose by 3.65 cents to 3.85 cents. Among them, the most actively traded September 2023 copper closed at $3.8555 per pound, up 3.75 cents or 0.98% from the previous trading day.
September copper traded in a range of $3.782 to $3.8605.
According to Chinese state media reports, China's top decision-making body met on Monday and decided that China will optimize real estate policies in due course, expand domestic demand, speed up the issuance of local special bonds, and boost demand for automobiles and electronic products.
However, global economic growth concerns and spot demand remained weak, limiting the rise in copper prices.
Ava Manter, an analyst at ING, said there were concerns about global growth, especially as China's economic recovery lost momentum in the second quarter and demand slowed, putting pressure on industrial metals prices.
The Shanghai Yangshan copper premium fell to a two-month low of $46 a tonne on Friday, pointing to weaker import demand.
The dollar edged higher on Monday, making dollar-denominated copper more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. FRX/
Metals markets are focused on the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision due on Wednesday and whether the Fed's speech will provide more clues about the future path of monetary tightening.
The recent COMEX copper futures contract has risen 2.66% so far this month and 0.92% so far this year. Monday's closing price was 14.61% higher than the same period last year, but still 22.08% lower than the historical peak hit in March 2022. COMEX copper futures fell by 14.6% in 2022, mainly because the outlook for global economic growth is worrying. High inflation prompted European and American central banks to actively raise interest rates to curb inflation, exacerbating the risk of economic recession. In contrast, 2020 and 2021 copper has recorded two consecutive years of gains of 25%, the global economic green transition and electrification will help boost the additional demand for this widely used metal in the power and construction industries, while copper mines face Disruptions such as underinvestment and production disruptions.
The August 2023 copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed down 340 yuan at 68,370 yuan a tonne on Monday. Bonded copper futures for October delivery on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) fell 410 yuan to 60,620 yuan a tonne.
From the perspective of fund dynamics, the position data released by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) shows that speculative funds increased their net long positions in the U.S. copper futures market, and sold nearly 20,000 lots in the previous three consecutive weeks. As of July 18, speculative funds held a net long position of 10,699 lots in the COMEX copper futures and options market, an increase of 6,912 lots from a week ago. For comparison, the previous week saw net sales of 5,309 lots.
In registered warehouses of the Shanghai Futures Exchange, copper inventories on Friday (July 21) were 77,898 tons, a decrease of 4,792 tons from 82,690 tons a week ago. 69.1% lower.
On Monday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 87,017 lots, compared with 72,200 lots in the previous trading day; the volume of short positions was 225,08 lots, compared with 221,466 lots in the previous trading day.
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