Copper rises as Chinese demand expectations add to speculative momentum
COPX•Copper prices climb for a fifth session
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 CMCU3 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.
Warehouse stocks fall and other metals mostly mixed
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 $26 a ton from a discount of $86 on September 14.
Among LME metals, aluminium CMAL3 and zinc CMZN3 fell 0.1% to $3,286 and $3,917, respectively. Lead CMPB3 rose 0.3% to $1,927 after hitting its three-month high of $1,929.5, tin CMSN3 gained 0.3% to $53,610 and nickel CMNI3 added 0.5% to $16,270.
Speculative demand and China holidays support the market
Renewed speculative demand has pushed copper higher after funds cut their net long positions in Comex copper futures HGc2 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 0#LMECMXCU widened but remained insufficient to encourage 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.
