COMEX August 9 Copper Roundup

New York, August 9 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) rose on Wednesday.

As of the close, copper futures rose by 1 cent to 1.95 cents, of which the most actively traded September 2023 copper rose 1.7 cents, or 0.45%, to close at $3.7835 per pound.

September copper traded in a range of $3.7635 to $3.827.

Data earlier on Wednesday showed China's consumer sector slipped into deflation, with factory prices extending their decline in July. A day earlier, China's imports and exports fell much faster than expected in July, raising expectations that China may introduce policies to further stimulate economic growth.

The near-term COMEX copper contract is down 5.68% so far this month and down 1.00% so far this year.

Wednesday's closing price rose 3.06% from the same period last year, mainly reflecting the market's expectation that the interest rate hike cycle of central banks such as the Federal Reserve is coming to an end; China will introduce more stimulus measures to support further economic recovery.

Current copper prices are 23.56% below their all-time peak of $4.929 hit in March 2022, as high interest rates weigh on economic growth and commodity demand, while China's economy is performing worse than earlier expected.

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, 2020 and 2021 copper has recorded two consecutive years of gains of 25%, the global economic green transition and electrification will help boost the additional demand for this widely used metal in the power and construction industries, while copper mines face Disruptions such as underinvestment and production disruptions.

The September 2023 copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 300 yuan to 68,190 yuan a tonne on Wednesday. Bonded copper futures for October delivery on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) fell 280 yuan to 60,540 yuan a tonne.

On Wednesday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 116,086 lots, compared with 182,465 lots in the previous trading day; the volume of short positions was 228,537 lots, compared with 230,502 lots in the previous trading day.