New York, July 6 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) closed down for the second consecutive day on Thursday, amid concerns that rising interest rates will hurt economic growth and commodity demand.
As of the close, copper futures fell by 2 cents to 3.4 cents. Among them, the most actively traded September 2023 copper closed at $3.7345 per pound, down 3.40 cents or 0.90% from the previous trading day.
September copper traded in a range of $3.7225 to $3.776.
Markets have been expecting further increases in interest rates in the US and Europe to curb inflation. Higher borrowing costs would slow economic growth and hurt demand for commodities, including copper. Recent surveys have pointed to a slowdown in factory and service sector activity in China and Europe, fueling fears of a global recession.
The closing price of the recent COMEX copper futures contract on Thursday was 3.85% higher than that of the same period last year, but it is still down 2.25% so far this year, which is 24.53% lower than the historical peak set in March 2022, reflecting the continued interest rate hikes by Western central banks. There are concerns over slowing economic growth, a recovery in China and weaker-than-expected demand for metals.
In contrast, COMEX copper futures fell by 14.58% in 2022, reflecting the worrying outlook for global economic growth. High inflation has prompted central banks in Europe and the United States to actively raise interest rates to curb inflation, while rising borrowing costs have exacerbated the risk of economic recession. In the medium to long term, the green transition of the global economy and electrification are helping to boost additional demand for the metal, which is widely used in the power and construction industries, while copper mine production has been disrupted.
The most actively traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 100 yuan to close at 67,880 yuan a tonne on Thursday. Bonded copper for September delivery on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) fell 70 yuan to close at 60,380 yuan a tonne.
On Thursday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 72,537 lots, compared with 84,535 lots in the previous trading day; the number of empty positions was 190,555 lots, compared with 187,371 lots in the previous trading day.
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