New York, August 18 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) rose on Friday, but the weekly line fell for the third consecutive week.
As of the close, copper futures rose by 0.55 cents to 1.5 cents. Among them, the most actively traded September 2023 copper closed at $3.706 per pound, up 1.45 cents or 0.39% from the previous trading day.
September copper traded in a range of $3.6645 to $3.7125.
Copper fell 0.35% for the cycle, its third straight weekly loss, as worries about the economy of the top metals consumer and housing woes kept the market in a bearish mood. The real estate industry is an important source of metal consumption globally and an important driver of economic growth.
The People's Bank of China unexpectedly cut interest rates earlier this week, also by the most since 2020, and on Friday issued its strongest-ever pricing guidance for the yuan, helping the yuan rebound.
The U.S. dollar index fell on Friday, supporting copper prices because it means that commodities priced in dollars are cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.
COMEX copper (near-term contract) is down 7.40% so far this month and 2.80% so far this year, closing Friday 0.42% higher than a year earlier. 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, the green transition and electrification of the global economy could help boost additional demand for the metal, which is widely used in the power and construction industries.
From the perspective of the external market, the September 2023 copper futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 150 yuan to 68,030 yuan/ton on Friday (August 18), but fell 430 yuan or 0.63% from a week ago. October bonded copper futures on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) rose 170 yuan to 60,370 yuan a tonne, but were down 310 yuan, or 0.51 percent, from a week ago.
In warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange, copper inventories stood at 39,228 tonnes on Friday (August 18), down 13,687 tonnes from 52,915 tonnes a week earlier and 84.5% lower than the peak of 252,455 tonnes at the end of February.
On Friday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 74,440 lots, compared with 104,210 lots in the previous trading day; the number of empty positions was 221,808 lots, compared with 227,104 lots in the previous trading day.
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