METALS-Copper bounces from 3-week low; Fed decision in focus
COPX•Other metals also mostly advance
Copper has retreated from record highs hit last week after Reuters reported that the White House had yet to decide whether to impose tariffs on refined copper.
Among other LME metals, aluminium CMAL3 rose 0.20%, zinc CMZN3 gained 0.46%, lead CMPB3 advanced 0.59% and nickel CMNI3 climbed 0.77%.
On the SHFE, aluminium SAFcv1 rose 0.52%, zinc SZNcv1 gained 0.56%, lead SPBcv1 added 0.41% and tin SSNcv1 climbed 1.23%, while nickel SNIcv1 fell 1.35%.
($1 = 6.7097 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Supply, demand and inventory signals
Jinrui Futures, a Chinese broker, said falling treatment charges, weak smelter margins and low inventories provided support to the red metal.
Signs of firmer physical demand in top consumer China also emerged. The Yangshan copper premium SMM-CUYP-CN, a gauge of Chinese demand for imported copper, rose to $110 a ton on Tuesday, the highest since early August.
Exchange inventories, however, continued to build. Copper stocks in LME-registered warehouses MCUSTX-TOTAL rose to 249,225 metric tons as of Monday, while cash copper remained at a discount to the three-month contract CMCU0-3.
U.S. COMEX copper stocks HG-STX-COMEX also rose for a second consecutive session, reaching 768,098 short tons, or about 696,807 metric tons, as of Monday.
Copper firms as traders watch the Fed
Copper rose marginally from a more-than-three-week low on Wednesday, even as investors expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to hike interest rates later in the day.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 rose 0.53% to $14,158 a metric ton by 0330 GMT, after touching $13,926 on Tuesday.
