New York, May 17 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) rose on Wednesday, rebounding from a more than five-month low to hit their highest close since May 10.
As of the close, copper futures rose by 8.6 cents to 8.85 cents. Among them, the most actively traded July 2023 copper closed at US$3.7545/lb, up 8.75 cents or 2.39% from the previous trading day. Its biggest one-day percentage gain since Feb. 28.
July copper traded in a range of $3.6525 to $3.774.
Copper has risen in three of the past four sessions.
Industrial metals were boosted by optimism about a deal in U.S. debt-ceiling talks, which helped restore investor risk appetite, traders said.
US President Joe Biden and Republican congressional leader Kevin McCarthy met, and the two sides stressed their determination to reach an agreement soon to raise the debt ceiling.
President Joe Biden will continue talks with congressional leaders on the debt ceiling later this week, the White House said on Wednesday, while U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he was confident the government would not default.
The near-term contract of COMEX copper futures fell 3.28% so far this month and 1.64% so far this year, but the closing price is still 10.50% lower than the same period last year and 24.06% lower than the historical peak reached 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 June 2023 copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed down 240 yuan at 64,210 yuan a tonne on Wednesday. Bonded copper futures for July 2023 on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) fell 300 yuan to 56,880 yuan a tonne.
On Wednesday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 93,700 lots, compared with 85,119 lots in the previous trading day; the number of empty positions was 210,415 lots, compared with 208,212 lots in the previous trading day.