LONDON: Copper prices in London hit their highest in almost three months on Friday and were heading for the best weekly growth since September as the return of the top metals consumer China after the Lunar New Year holidays eased fears over trade tensions.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 1.4% to $9,407 a metric ton by 1128 GMT after hitting $9,425 for its highest since Nov 11. The contract is up 4% so far this week.
“It is China which is really fuelling the rally in the past 48 hours and since their reopen,” said Alastair Munro at broker Marex.
The most active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), which reopened on Wednesday after the holidays, gained 1.5%.
U.S. President Donald Trump delayed imposing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico but slapped an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese imports this week. Beijing retaliated by announcing tariffs up to 15% on some U.S. imports starting February 10, leaving room for potential negotiations.
Softer dollar underpins base metals, Shanghai copper hits near 3-week high
The markets are waiting for a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. They will speak as soon as this week, Trump’s spokesperson said on Monday.
Meanwhile, copper inventories in warehouses monitored by SHFE saw a seasonal jump by 81.5% from last release on Jan. 24 to the highest in almost five months, SHFE data showed on Friday. Zinc inventories jumped by 81.8%.
The Yangshan copper premium, a closely-watched gauge of China’s import demand, was last at $68 per ton, down from a one-year high of $76 reached on Jan. 20.
LME aluminium firmed 0.6% to $2,635.50 a ton, zinc was up 1.7% at $2,866, tin added 0.4% to $31,110, lead climbed 0.9% to $2,006.50, while nickel
fell 0.2% to $15,770.
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