By Pratima Desai
LONDON (Portal) – Copper prices rose on Monday, helped by rising imports of the industrial metal from its biggest consumer, China, and hopes that interest rates will soon peak after rapid hikes aimed at curbing inflation.
* Bigger gains in the metal came after Wall Street opened, traders said.
* Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 1.2% to $7,969 a tonne by 1604 GMT. Prices for the metal, used as an indicator of economic health, are up 14% since July 15, when they hit a low not seen since November 2020 at $6,955.
* “The rebound in metal prices and other risky assets more broadly comes on hopes that inflation has peaked or may have peaked,” said Duncan Hobbs, director of research at Concord Resources.
* “As an association, it may mean that central banks, led by the Federal Reserve, have reached or even passed the peak of their tightening monetary policies. Whether these hopes are justified is debatable; the latest US jobs report was strong,” he added.
* US job growth accelerated unexpectedly in July, lifting employment above pre-pandemic levels and ignoring fears that the economy is in recession.
* Notes on Fed monetary policy will be released on Wednesday with the release of CPI data.
* Part of the reason base metal prices have surged over the past few weeks is that funds and dealers have been buying back short positions as the dollar retreated from all-time highs against other major currencies.
* A weaker US currency makes greenback-traded metals cheaper for holders of other currencies, which could boost demand.
* China’s copper imports were 463,693 tonnes in July, up 9.3% from a year earlier, as sharp price falls prompted buying amid low domestic inventories.
* Among other base metals, aluminum rose 1.2% to $2,446 a tonne, zinc fell 1.5% to $3,436, lead rose 4% to $2,154, tin fell 0.7% to $24,285 and nickel fell up 2.7% to $21,625.
* To view current base metal prices:
– COPPER
– TO LEAD
– TIN
– NICKEL
– ALUMINUM
– ZINC