Copper hovers near $10,000 as traders await more cues
Oct 7 (Reuters) -London copper prices rose on Monday to hover near the $10,000 per-metric-ton level, as market participants looked for more demand cues following a rally sparked by Chinese stimulus.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 advanced 0.4% to $9,985.50 per ton by 0217 GMT, aluminium CMAL3 increased 0.5% to $2,666 and zinc CMZN3 edged up 0.1% at $3,170.
LME lead CMPB3 climbed 0.6% to $2,161.50 a ton, tin CMSN3 increased 0.2% to $33,875, while nickel CMNI3 fell 0.8% to $17,840.
Copper prices have been trading around $10,000 a ton, a key resistance level, as participants in top consumer China are away for a holiday and trading volume has been thin as a result.
A slew of Chinese stimulus announced in late September has pushed the whole base metals complex higher, with LME copper rising 6.4% last month in its best monthly gain since April.
However, as prices approached the $10,000 level, some market participants waited for China's markets to reopen to see if physical demand is intact.
"Sentiment was particularly buoyant amongst Chinese attendees at LME Week in London. This contrasted with the relatively bearish mood by most of their Western counterparts," ANZ analysts said in a note, referring to the annual gathering of metals industry participants in London in the week of Sept. 30.
"This opens the prospect of further gains when Chinese markets reopen on Tuesday following the Golden Week (Oct. 1-7) holiday. Any sustained pick-up will likely hang on more concrete details of the fiscal stimulus measure the Beijing promised."
LME copper inventories have been declining slightly since September, but are still nearly three times the level seen in May.
The LME cash copper contract traded at a $147.09-a-ton discount to the three-month contract on Friday, suggesting abundant near-term supplies.
For the top stories in metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or MET/L
Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets: LME price overview RING= COMEX copper futures 0#HG: All metals news MTL All commodities news C
Foreign exchange rates FX=SPEED GUIDES LME/INDEX
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
