Shanghai copper futures rose for the second consecutive day on Thursday, following London futures higher on increased hopes that the US economic outlook will improve. But Shanghai Futures Exchange copper lagged on Wednesday's London Metal Exchange increase because of rising stocks in China.
The most actively traded Shanghai June copper contract rose 1.07 percent, or 700 yuan, to 66,070 yuan ($9,414) a tonne. "The LME rise was driven by fund investment and that pushed up prices in Shanghai today," Wang Xiaodan, analyst at StarFutures Securities in Shenzhen, said.
She said falling stocks had supported LME prices and the upward trend was unlikely to turn around in the near term. But a manager at a metal investment fund in China said he expected China's refined copper production to rise by 40,00-50,000 tonnes in March after snowstorms reduced output in February, and this would hold back Shanghai prices.
Traders expected copper stocks at the Shanghai exchange to rise about 2,400 tonnes this week. Some 6,000 tonnes were added in exchange's warehouses but would not be included in the most recent data, they said.
The exchange will release the stock figures on Thursday due to a holiday on Friday. Copper rode a wave of economic optimism on Wednesday stemming from positive private-sector job growth statistics and forecasts for improved US economic conditions in second half of 2008 and 2009 from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. Copper for LME three-month delivery ended up 2.6 percent at $8,515 a tonne on Wednesday, its highest level on a closing basis since March 7.
On Thursday, the LME price stood steady at $8,520 a tonne. US private employers unexpectedly added 8,000 jobs in March, according to a report by ADP Employer Services. Revised February figures a loss of 18,000 jobs. But new orders at US factories fell for the second month in a row in February and by a much larger-than-expected 1.3 percent, a government report showed on Wednesday.
Comments
Comments are closed.