US copper futures rallied to a new 16-year high on Thursday, as traders said concerns about tight supplies combined with short-cover buying to drive the metal through resistance. At the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, copper for July delivery pulled off the high to trade 2.90 cents higher at $1.5780 per lb., but had raced to a 16-year high at $1.5850 shortly after the open.
Traders said prices came off the highs after the US housing data came in short of expectations. "There were some funds that came in to buy, but there were also stops that pushed us up. We hit resistance at $1.5830 (on the July contract) that triggered stops that sent it on to $1.5850," a copper trader said.
On a spot basis, COMEX copper briefly matched the all-time high at $1.65 a lb, last reached in November 1988, when the copper contract that trades currently on the exchange ran simultaneously alongside the then-prevalent Standard contract.
The High-grade contract, which trades on COMEX today and began in 1988, surpassed its record last Friday when it ran up to $1.6320 per lb. Spot June COMEX copper soared 4.30 cents to the top price at $1.65 a lb. Contracts out to October all hit new life-of-contract highs. Prices were up 1.15 to 1.85 cents.
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