LIVE FUTURES REPORT 27/09: Comex copper stages mild recovery in midweek session

Comex copper prices stabilised on the morning of Wednesday September 27 in the USA although prices must contend with a stronger dollar following hawkish comments from the head of the US central bank.

Copper for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 1.00 cents or 0.3% to $2.9290 per lb. Yesterday, the contract hit a six-week low.

“We do not have any firm view on the metals group at this particular stage and expect rather range bound trading to continue,” INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said. “Most complexes should benefit from what is going on in China, specifically a conscious effort undertaken by the authorities to limit output across a number of metals groups.”

A speech by US Federal Open Market Committee chair Janet Yellen on Tuesday was interpreted by markets as hawkish. She noted that it would be “imprudent” to keep monetary policy on hold until inflation reaches 2%, thereby lending weight to the possibility of a US rate increase in December.

In copper data, China’s imports of refined copper rose 9.8% year on year but fell 10.1% month on month to 254,762 tonnes, while imports of copper ores and concentrates fell 0.2% year on year but rose 2.9% on the month to 1.44 million tonnes in August.

“While there remains concerns over China’s economic health in the second half of this year, the arrival of the peak period for demand will provide support for [copper] prices,” a Chinese broker said. The September-October period is traditionally the peak period for demand in China. 

In the precious metals, Comex gold for December delivery fell $14.10 or 1.1% to $1,287.40 per oz.

Currency moves and data releases

  • The dollar index was recently up 0.54 at 93.53, moving further away from recent multi-year lows.
  • In other commodities, the Texas light sweet crude oil spot price rose 0.35% to $52.06 per barrel. 
  • In data today, durable goods orders in August came in at 1.7%, above the forecast of 1.0%. Core durable goods over the same period were in line with estimates at 0.2%. Later, pending home sales and crude oil inventories are due.
What to read next
Find out how days before the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, the World Economic Forum (WEF) outlined three key areas of investment for the global aluminium industry to reach net zero by 2050 – clean energy, emerging technologies and decarbonization infrastructure – but it will require hundreds of billions of dollars
“The [Department] has a set of tools through the Inflation Reduction Act [IRA] and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” Annie Sartor, aluminum campaign director at clean industry advocate group Industrious Labs, said. “They are open to talking about what the industry needs. When we said the current investments were not enough, they were open to conversation,” […]
There is a sense of cautious optimism in the mining sector following the election of Javier Milei as the new president of Argentina on Sunday November 19, Fastmarkets understands
Copper scrap discounts in the United States continued to be steady in the week to Wednesday November 22, with sources noting little changes week on week ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on its non-ferrous and industrial minerals methodologies, via an open consultation process between October 5 and November 3. This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process.
Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for its International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)-audited non-ferrous materials, via an open consultation process between October 5 and November 3, 2023. This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process.