LONDON: Copper prices touched a five-week high on Thursday after the dollar’s rally paused and investors had renewed hope that China would take more action to boost its sluggish economy.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.8% to $9,240 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading after hitting $9,271, the strongest since Dec. 11. China’s state media reported that the country’s central bank may cut banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) before the Spring Festival at the end of this month, helping to boost the Chinese stock market.
“People are getting a little bit more optimistic about China, but the key thing is does the Chinese government have the appetite to do anything bigger or bolder,” said Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree. “Even if they were to cut the reserve requirement ratio or make a small tinkering with rates once again, I don’t think that’s going to be enough. I do think they need a full package of stimulus.” The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 1.1% at 76,080 yuan ($10,353.95) a ton.
The market was also supported by the dollar, which took a breather from recent strength, largely due to data showing US inflation was slightly weaker than expected, raising hopes the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates further. A weaker dollar makes commodities priced in the US currency less expensive for buyers using other currencies.
LME aluminium gained 1.4% to $2,637 a ton, the highest since Dec. 5, helped by plans by the European Commission to ban Russian primary aluminium, according to EU diplomats. “Russian shipments of the metal to Europe have already fallen due to widespread self-sanctioning by manufacturers. Any further restrictions would likely see only a limited impact on the market,” ANZ Research said in a note. In other metals, LME zinc was little changed in official activity at 2,862 a ton, nickel was up 0.2% at $15,885, lead gained 1.2% to $1,958 and tin rose 0.4% to $29,700.
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