LIVE FUTURES REPORT 05/11: Upbeat complex sees LME copper price above $5,900/t; Al tops turnover

Copper’s outright price was recently seen at $5,918 per tonne, with just under 2,500 lots exchanged as at 8.40am London time.

Meanwhile, buying in LME copper remains supported by positive forward spreads, with copper’s benchmark cash/three-month spread recently seen in a $23.25-per-tonne contango.

“Trade deal talks are firming up and it is reported China is reviewing locations for where a ‘phase one’ agreement could be signed,” brokerage Marex Spectron’s LME analyst Anna Stablum said in a morning report.

“Analysts are hoping a trade deal might halt the softening economic landscape. Global manufacturing fell for a sixth straight month in October. China lowered its medium-term lending rate to banks for the first time since 2016 today,” she added.

Elsewhere in the complex, aluminium’s continued resilience saw price action keep above the $1,800-per -tonne support level this morning.

Turnover in the light metal was high, topping the complex at just over 3,500 lots exchanged as at 8.55am London time.

Some 5,675 tonnes of freshly canceled material also boosted price action in aluminium over the morning, with the bulk of material canceled out of LME-registered warehouses in Singapore.

Forward spreads in aluminium remain tight, with cash/three-month recently trading in a $6.25-per-tonne backwardation.

Other highlights

• Elsewhere in the complex, the three-month tin price was the biggest mover in percentage terms over the morning, climbing by more than 1% and recently trading at $16,545 per tonne.
• Zinc’s cash/three-month remains tight, recently trading in a $62-per-tonne backwardation, while the metal’s three-month price was recently at $2,540 per tonne.
• The dollar index, which gauges the strength of the US dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, was lower over the morning, down by 0.03% at 97.52.
• In other commodities, Brent crude oil futures were up by 0.39% at $62.38 per barrel.
• In European data this morning, the United Kingdom’s services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the October period is still due, with the current forecast set at 49.6, up from September’s figure of 49.5 but remaining in contraction territory.
• Meanwhile, the United States is expected to release figures on its trade balance as well as its ISM non-manufacturing PMI number for the October period, which is expected to come in at 53.5.