Copper rises as Chinese demand expectations add to speculative momentum

Available copper stocks in LME-registered warehouses MCUSTX-TOTAL 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 CMCU0-3 to $47 a ton from a discount of $86 on September 14.

Among LME metals, aluminium CMAL3 fell 0.5% to $3,272.5 in official activity, while zinc CMZN3 was up 0.3% at $3,930, tin CMSN3 gained 0.6% to $54,040 and nickel CMNI3 added 0.5% to $16,260.

Lead CMPB3 was up 0.3% at $1,927 after hitting a three-month high of $1,929.5.

Renewed speculative demand has pushed copper higher after funds cut their net long positions in Comex copper futures HGc2 in the week to September 15, as the White House has yet to decide on refined copper tariffs, said Ole Hansen, Saxo Bank's head of commodity strategy.

The premium of US copper futures over LME prices 0#LMECMXCU widened, climbing back towards levels encouraging new physical shipments to COMEX copper stocks HG-STX-COMEX, 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.

Yangshan copper SMM-CUYP-CN, 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.

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.