New York, August 7 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) fell on Monday, hitting a two-week low, as the dollar strengthened and the demand outlook for manufacturing in major economies weakened.
As of the close, copper futures fell by 2.45 cents to 3.25 cents. Among them, the most actively traded September 2023 copper closed at $3.835 per pound, down 3.25 cents or 0.84% from the previous trading day, a record 7 Lowest price since March 21.
September copper traded in a range of $3.825 to $3.877.
The dollar strengthened on Monday after Federal Reserve Governor Bowman said she supported the view of raising interest rates to curb inflation, weighing on the dollar-priced metal.
German industrial production fell more than expected in June, data showed on Monday, underscoring the challenges facing manufacturing in Europe's largest economy. German manufacturing is struggling amid falling orders, sluggish output and high prices. The final HCOB Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell for the sixth straight month in July. Analysts expect the German economy to contract again in the second half of 2023.
Manufacturers in China, the world's second-largest economy, also face export headwinds as key Western markets struggle under pressure from high inflation and rising interest rates. Economists expect China's foreign trade may shrink further in July. Data previously released showed that Chinese factory activity fell for a fourth straight month in July, with services and construction teetering on the brink of contraction.
The China Development and Reform Commission held three news conferences last week to hint at stimulus measures, but for investors, suggestions to expand consumption in the auto, real estate and services sectors failed to lift sentiment.
The near-term contract of COMEX copper futures has risen 0.20% so far this year. The closing price on Monday was 6.29% higher than the same period last year, but it was still 22.64% lower than the historical peak set in March 2022. COMEX copper futures fell by 14.6% 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, exacerbating the risk of economic recession. In contrast, 2020 and 2021 copper has recorded two consecutive years of gains of 25%, the global economic green transition and electrification will help boost the additional demand for this widely used metal in the power and construction industries, while copper mines face Disruptions such as underinvestment and production disruptions.
From the perspective of fund dynamics, the position data released by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) shows that speculative funds increased their net long positions in the U.S. copper futures market for the third consecutive week, accumulatively increasing their holdings by 17,000 lots. Weekly net sales of nearly 20,000 lots. As of August 1, speculative funds held a net long position of 21,513 lots in the COMEX copper futures and options market, an increase of 8,011 lots from a week ago. For comparison, net buying was 2,803 lots the previous week.
The September 2023 copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed down 260 yuan at 68,950 yuan a tonne on Monday. Bonded copper futures for October delivery on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) fell 200 yuan to 61,240 yuan a tonne.
In registered warehouses of the Shanghai Futures Exchange, copper inventories on Friday (August 4) were 52,152 tons, a decrease of 9,138 tons from 61,290 tons a week ago. tons lower by 79.3%.
On Monday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 95,730 lots, compared with 98,667 lots in the previous trading day; the number of empty positions was 230,359 lots, compared with 232,322 lots in the previous trading day.
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