LIVE FUTURES REPORT 16/10: Comex copper prices surge on optimism of positive Chinese data

Comex copper prices were trading at the highest point since August 2014 in the morning of Monday October 16, with market participants anticipating improved Chinese data over the coming week.

Copper for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped 11 cents or 3.5% to $3.2435 per lb.

Chinese market participants’ growing optimism ahead of the upcoming 13th Five-Year Plan meeting at the 19th Party Congress in Beijing is playing a major role in higher prices.

“It appears that copper, and indeed the other base metals, is in demand in anticipation of good Chinese economic data – Thursday will see the third-quarter GDP figure and other economic data for September published,” Commerzbank said in a research note.

“The governor of the Chinese central bank had already hinted at the weekend that growth is likely to be good. Market participants will also be focusing their attention on China this week because Wednesday will see the start of the party congress, which only takes place every five years,” the bank added.

Comex gold for December delivery inched up $3.0 or 0.2% to $1,307.60 per oz.

Currency moves and data releases 

  • The dollar index was recently up by 0.14% to 93.19. 
  • The Texas light sweet crude oil spot price was most recently up by 1.47% to $52.49 per barrel. 
  • Data out already shows the Chinese producer price index (PPI) for September climbing 6.9%, after a 6.3% rise previously, while its consumer price index (CPI) dipped to 1.6% from 1.8%, but this lower reading was within market expectations. Meanwhile, Japanese revised industrial production was 2%, down slightly from the initial reading of 2.1%. 
  • In the USA, the Empire State Manufacturing Index in October was 30.2, a big lift from the economic consensus of 20.3.

What to read next
The global copper market has finally received the widely anticipated news that imports to the US will be tariffed from August 1. The finer details of the tariffs, including their scope, and whether key copper-exporting nations like Chile, Canada and Peru will be exempt, remain unclear.
LME copper prices took a significant hit following US President Donald Trump's announcement of a potential 50% tariff on copper imports. The uncertainty surrounding the timeline and implementation of the tariff has left market participants hesitant, with analysts noting its immediate impact on price momentum and trading activity.
Fastmarkets has launched MB-AL-0424 Aluminium P1020A premium, fob Indonesia, $/tonne on July 9 due to an expected increase in Indonesia-origin aluminium exports. MB-AL-0424 Aluminium P1020A premium, fob Indonesia, $/tonneQuality: P1020A or 99.7 % Minimum Al purity (Si 0.10% max, Fe 0.20% max) in line with LME specifications. Ingot, T-bar, sowQuantity: Min 500 tonnesLocation: FOB IndonesiaTiming: […]
To increase the transparency of our methodology, Fastmarkets clarifies that the quotation period of the MHP nickel payable indicator is the month of delivery, or the month M. Any data points Fastmarkets received otherwise will be normalized to the M month based on the monthly spreads of the prevailing exchange-traded Class-1 nickel reference price, or […]
'Probably miscalculated’ assumptions at Kakula mine force Ivanhoe to overhaul entire Kamoa-Kakula complex, explains CEO Marna Cloete.
Following an initial consultation with the market, Fastmarkets is proposing to:  The new specifications would be as follows, with amendments in italics: MB-CU-0002 Copper grade 1 cathode premium, ddp Midwest US, US cents/lb Quality: Grade A 99.9935% min copper cathode conforming to LME specifications BS EN 1978:2022 – Cu-CATH-1 or Grade 1 Electrolytic Copper Cathode ATSM B1115-10 Quantity: Min […]