COMEX June 8 Copper Roundup

New York, June 8 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) closed higher on Thursday, ending the decline in the previous two trading days. The benchmark contract hit a four-week high, largely supported by a weaker dollar.

As of the close, copper futures rose by 3.7 cents to 4.2 cents, of which the most actively traded July 2023 copper closed at US$3.795/lb, up 3.9 cents or 1.04% from the previous trading day, a record high Highest closing price since May 10.

July copper traded in a range of $3.7345 to $3.797.

The dollar fell 0.7% on Thursday as data from the U.S. Labor Department showed initial jobless claims rose more than expected in the latest week. A weaker dollar makes dollar-priced copper cheaper for holders of other currencies, thus helping to support prices and demand.

The near-term COMEX copper futures contract is still down 0.24% so far this year. Copper prices have erased all the gains made earlier in the year as China's economic growth slows and Western economies still face recession fears.

Looking at the monthly chart, copper futures fell 6.18% in May, marking the largest monthly drop since June 2022 and the second consecutive month of decline. During April and May, copper futures fell by 11.54%. Copper is up 4.56 percent so far in June, reflecting the market's eager anticipation of more economic stimulus from top metals consumer China.

Thursday's closing price is still 13.50% lower than the same period last year, and 22.98% lower than the historical peak hit in March 2022. 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 July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 30 yuan to close at 66,770 yuan a ton on Thursday. Bonded copper for August delivery on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) fell 30 yuan to close at 59,360 yuan a tonne.

On Thursday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 116,776 lots, compared with 125,835 lots in the previous trading day; the number of open positions was 228,094 lots, compared with 229,756 lots in the previous trading day.