COMEX May 24 Copper Roundup

New York, May 24 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) fell in heavy volume on Wednesday, hitting the lowest point since early November last year, which is also the third consecutive day of decline. A stronger U.S. dollar, concerns about global growth and Chinese demand prompted continued selling by speculative bears.

As of the close, copper futures fell by 8.6 cents to 9.3 cents. Among them, the most actively traded July 2023 copper closed at US$3.5615/lb, down 9.3 cents or 2.54% from the previous trading day. It was the biggest one-day percentage drop since May 11 and the lowest close since Nov. 3 last year.

July copper traded in a range of $3.545 to $3.6475.

The dollar rose further on Wednesday, hitting a two-month high. That weighed on the dollar-quoted metal.

ICE's June U.S. dollar basket index ended at 103.799, up 0.4% from Tuesday and up 2.4% so far this month, reflecting growing uncertainty among market participants that the Fed may soon begin a policy shift. In fact, traders on Wednesday raised their chances of another 25 basis point rate hike at the Fed's June meeting to 34%, up from 28.1% on Tuesday.

The minutes of the Fed's May 2-3 meeting released on Wednesday showed that Fed officials generally believed that the need for further interest rate hikes had become less certain last month, with several officials saying that a 25 basis point increase in May would be expected. May be the last time. However, in the past week, most Fed officials have made hawkish remarks, believing that the central bank is still likely to raise interest rates further.

U.S. stocks fell broadly on Wednesday, reflecting investor risk aversion taking hold as the U.S. government draws closer to a deadline that faces the risk of default and with no signs of progress in U.S. debt-ceiling talks.

The recent COMEX copper futures contract has fallen 8.18% so far this month, and 6.62% so far this year, 16.92% lower than the same period last year, and 27.91% lower than the historical peak hit in March 2022.

Copper futures on COMEX fell by 14.6% in 2022, mainly because the outlook for global economic growth is worrisome. 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 most actively traded July 2023 copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed down 840 yuan at 63,950 yuan a tonne on Wednesday. Bonded copper futures for July 2023 on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) fell 860 yuan to 56,720 yuan a tonne.

On Wednesday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 123,463 lots, compared with 85,750 lots in the previous trading day; the volume of short positions was 215,394 lots, compared with 209,864 lots in the previous trading day.