Latest News

Copper up on weaker dollar, wishes for Chinese stimulus

Copper rates rebounded on Wednesday to a oneweek high up on a weaker dollar and calls to boost usage at a meeting of China's leading decisionmaking body as the manufacturing sector continued to slow down.

The most traded three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was 2.9% higher at $9,229.5 at 1607 GMT, publishing the most significant intraday gain in 4 months.

The rebound in copper costs was fuelled by a softer U.S. dollar. The greenback deteriorated significantly after U.S. personal payroll growth in July missed out on expectations.

A weaker dollar makes greenback-priced metals cheaper for holders of foreign currencies.

Other drivers consisted of rising expectations for more stimulus in China after main factory data in the leading metals customer slipped to a five-month low in July, stated Ewa Manthey, a. commodities expert at ING.

Beijing's Politburo signified on Tuesday a sense of urgency. to restore the $17 trillion economy, calling for policies that. would increase earnings and boost domestic intake.

Manthey also cited dip-buying in the physical market after. copper prices fell 17% from an all-time high in May. On a. monthly basis, copper was down practically 4%.

Aluminium costs gained 3.4% to $2,299.5, after slipping to. a five-month low in the previous session.

The discount rate or contango for the cash versus the. three-month contract reached $66.53 a heap, the greatest considering that. 1998. << CMAL0-3 >

Contango, a condition where forward rates on LME are higher. than near-term rates, usually signals good instant supply. of the metal. In storage facilities monitored by LME in Port Klang,. 539,475 tonnes of aluminum were allocated for shipment. << 0 #MALSTX- LOC-GRD>

> On month-to-month basis, LME aluminium was still heading towards. losses of 9%, as financiers' interest in metals faded following. rallies in the second quarter.

Tin climbed up 5% to $30,210, gaining the most because. April 2023.

Nickel increased 3.1% to $16,575, zinc advanced. 1.9% to $2,678.5 and lead was up 2.5% at $2,086.

(source: Reuters)