New York, August 11 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) fell on Friday, hitting a new six-week low, pressured by a stronger dollar.
As of the close, copper futures fell by 3.3 cents to 4.6 cents. Among them, the most actively traded September 2023 copper closed at US$3.719/lb, down 4.6 cents or 1.22% from the previous trading day, a record high. The lowest close since June 29.
September copper traded in a range of $3.695 to $3.7675.
Copper fell 3.84% for the week, its second straight weekly loss and third in four weeks.
The U.S. dollar index rose 0.32% on Friday and was up 0.84% for the week, meaning dollar-priced commodities are more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.
Economic data released by China remained weak this week, with the consumer price index falling and social finance data falling sharply, further strengthening market expectations for more economic stimulus measures from China.
COMEX copper (near-term contract) is down 7.01% so far this month and 2.39% so far this year, closing Friday 1.05% higher than a year earlier. In contrast, COMEX copper futures fell by 14.58% in 2022, mainly because the outlook for global economic growth is worrying. High inflation prompted European and American central banks to actively raise interest rates to curb inflation, which exacerbated the risk of economic recession. In the medium to long term, however, the green transition and electrification of the global economy could help boost additional demand for the metal, which is widely used in the power and construction industries.
From the perspective of the external market, the September 2023 copper futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 270 yuan to 68,460 yuan/ton on Friday (August 11), down 830 yuan or 1.20% from a week ago. Bonded copper futures for October delivery on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) fell 430 yuan to 60,680 yuan a tonne, down 910 yuan, or 1.48%, from a week ago.
In registered warehouses of the Shanghai Futures Exchange, copper stocks were 52,915 tons on Friday (August 11), an increase of 763 tons from 52,152 tons a week ago. This was the first increase in four weeks, but it was still lower than the peak in late February 252,455 tonnes was down 79.0 percent.
On Friday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 132,600 lots, compared with 111,077 lots in the previous trading day; the number of empty positions was 226,905 lots, compared with 222,415 lots in the previous trading day.