COMEX May 26 Copper Roundup

New York, May 26 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) rose on Friday, rebounding from a six-month low; however, the weekly chart remained down.

As of the close, copper futures rose by 9.1 cents to 9.4 cents, of which the most actively traded July 2023 copper closed at US$3.682/lb, up 9.4 cents or 2.64% from the previous trading day.

July copper traded in a range of $3.583 to $3.6845.

Copper rebounded on Friday, mainly because of expectations that the White House and Republican leaders in Congress will reach an agreement on raising the government's debt ceiling, so as to avoid the government's debt default.

The dollar also eased slightly on Friday, though it still hovered near two-month highs. ICE's June U.S. dollar index fell 0.04 percent to 104.136, up 1 percent from a week ago and up 2.7 percent so far this month. A stronger dollar typically makes copper less attractive to overseas buyers.

Copper fell by 1.34% in this cycle, mainly reflecting that major European and American economies may further raise interest rates, thereby weakening economic growth and metal demand, while the economic recovery in China, the largest metal consumer, is less than expected, and metal demand is weak, weakening investors' expectations Confidence in the recovery of China's metal consumption.

Data from the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday showed that consumer spending rose further in April from a year earlier, leading investors to expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again in June or July. The yield on the two-year note, which typically tracks interest rate expectations, jumped 5.2 basis points to 4.562%, while the gap between the closely watched two-year and 10-year notes widened further, suggesting a U.S. recession may be imminent.

COMEX copper (the near-term contract) is down 5.08% so far in May and is down 3.47% so far this year. The closing price of copper futures (near-term contract) on Friday was 14.65% lower than the same period last year, and 25.47% lower than the historical peak in March 2022. In contrast, COMEX copper futures fell by 14.58% 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, which exacerbated the risk of economic recession. In the medium to long term, however, a green transition to the global economy and electrification will help boost additional demand for the metal, which is widely used in power and construction, while copper mine production has been disrupted.

From the perspective of the external market, the July 2023 copper futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1,370 yuan to 63,900 yuan/ton on Friday (May 26), but fell 1,280 yuan or 1.96% from a week ago. July bonded copper futures on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) rose 1,190 yuan to 56,570 yuan a tonne, but down 1,180 yuan, or 2.04%, from a week ago.

In the registered warehouse of the Shanghai Futures Exchange, copper inventories fell to 86,177 tons on Friday (26th), a decrease of 16,334 tons from 102,511 tons a week ago. tons lower by 65.9%.

On Friday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 81,508 lots, compared with 95,439 lots in the previous trading day; the number of empty positions was 218,760 lots, compared with 220,972 lots in the previous trading day.