COMEX June 27 Copper Roundup

New York, June 27 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) fell for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday, hitting a new low in more than half a month, amid concerns that interest rate hikes by Western central banks will weigh on economic growth and the outlook for metals demand .

As of the close, copper futures fell by 0.5 cents to 2.15 cents, and the most actively traded September 2023 copper futures fell 1.60 cents or 0.42% to close at $3.7885 per pound, which is also the highest level since June 12. Lowest closing price.

September copper traded in a range of $3.7775 to $3.8465.

In the four trading days as of Tuesday, September copper futures fell by 3.31%.

Strong U.S. economic data on Tuesday, with a surprise increase in new orders for U.S.-made durable goods, strong new home sales and consumer confidence data further reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month.

Traders are pricing in a 77% chance of a 25 basis point rate hike next month, according to the FedWatch tool.

ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday that the European Central Bank could not announce an end to interest rate hikes as inflation remained stubbornly high.

The near-term COMEX copper contract has risen 4.14% so far this month, mainly reflecting the market's expectation that China will introduce more stimulus measures to support economic growth.

However, copper futures are still down 0.63% so far this year. Tuesday's closing price was 0.07% lower than the same period last year and 23.28% lower than the historical peak reached 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, copper has recorded two consecutive years of gains of 25% in 2020 and 2021, as the green transition of the global economy and electrification help boost additional demand for the metal, which is widely used in the power and construction industries, while copper mines face challenges. Disruptions such as underinvestment and production disruptions.

The August 2023 copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed flat at 68,100 yuan a tonne on Tuesday. Bonded copper futures for September delivery on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) rose 60 yuan to 60,630 yuan a tonne.

On Tuesday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 88,139 lots, compared with 105,506 lots in the previous trading day; the number of empty positions was 197,393 lots, compared with 198,646 lots in the previous trading day.