Copper rises as Chinese demand expectations add to speculative momentum

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

Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange was up 1.0% at $14,669.50 a metric ton by 1612 GMT, after earlier touching $14,774, 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 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.

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 $46 a ton from a discount of $86 on September 14.