SHANGHAI: Shanghai copper prices rose to their highest in a week on Monday on improved risk sentiment following an agreement to suspend the US government’s debt ceiling.
The most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 2.1% to 65,210 yuan ($9,434.18) a tonne, having climbed to as high as 65,350 yuan a tonne earlier in the session, a level unseen in a week.
US President Joe Biden and congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy forged an agreement on Saturday to avert an economically destabilising default to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until 2025.
The deal will now have to pass through the narrowly divided Congress and, if approved, will prevent the US government from defaulting on its debt.
Market worries have eased following the agreement, Jinrui Futures said in a note.
But the recovery pace of the economy in China, the top consumer of metals, is gradually slowing, and overall macro sentiment is bearish, limiting support for copper, it added.
SHFE aluminium advanced 0.9% to 18,025 yuan a tonne and zinc climbed 2.4% to 19,420 yuan a tonne.
SHFE nickel advanced 0.6% to 162,140 yuan a tonne, lead eased 0.1% to 15,240 yuan a tonne, while tin jumped 4.2% to 208,210 yuan a tonne.
The London Metal Exchange was closed for a public holiday.
SHFE copper inventories fell to 86,177 tonnes on Friday, the lowest since Jan. 6. However, stockpiles of the metal in LME-approved warehouses rose to 97,725 tonnes on Thursday, their highest since November 2022.
Meanwhile, profits at China’s industrial firms slumped in the first four months of 2023, official data showed on Saturday, as companies continued to struggle with margin pressures and soft demand amid a faltering economic recovery.
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