COMEX June 26 Copper Roundup

London, June 26 news: London Metal Exchange (LME) copper closed slightly higher on Monday, mainly because copper inventories on the exchange fell, and heavy rain in Chile caused copper mines to stop production. But concerns over the outlook for global economic growth have pushed copper prices back from session highs.

By 1550 GMT, benchmark three-month copper on the LME was up 0.10% at $8,397.5 a tonne.

Copper is used mainly in the power and construction industries and is widely seen as a barometer of global economic growth. Copper is up 0.27% so far this year after falling 13.8% in 2022. Copper is up 4 percent so far this month, as markets look to China for a rate cut and more measures to support economic growth. On June 16, Lun copper touched 8,634 US dollars, which is also the highest point since May 10.

Global copper inventories continued to decline last week, providing support for copper prices. The premium for spot copper on the LME over three-month copper jumped to a seven-month high. In warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange and bonded warehouses in Shanghai, LME and COMEX, copper inventories totaled 236,000 tonnes, down 7% from a week ago.

Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, has halted mining operations at some copper mines in central Chile due to heavy rains in Chile last week, according to a research note from ING.

Macroeconomic data released on Monday continued to disappoint. German business sentiment deteriorated for the second consecutive month in June, and German manufacturing activity fell to a 37-month low. Standard & Poor's lowered its forecast for China's economic growth this year. Last week, Lun Copper fell by about 2%, mainly because China's economic stimulus measures so far have not met expectations, and the current off-season for industrial metal demand has put metal futures under pressure again. Arthur Parria, partner at SP Angel metals, said metals prices were weakening again as hopes for a larger economic stimulus from China were fading. Coking coal and coke prices have fallen to annual lows.

Traders are awaiting the release of China's official purchasing managers' index this week for a better understanding of the outlook for demand in the world's largest metals consumer.

From a technical perspective, copper prices are trading between 50-day and 21-day moving averages, with the 200-day moving average at $8,417.

Closing quotes for other metals included LME aluminum down 1.1% at $2,150 a tonne, tin down 3.1% at $25,650 a tonne, zinc down 1.3% at $2,333 a tonne and lead down 2.4% at $2,333 a tonne. At $2,072.50 a tonne, nickel fell 4.8% to $20,285 a tonne, the lowest level since last September.