New York, August 3 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) rose on Thursday, ending a two-day losing streak. A weaker dollar supported copper prices.
As of the close, copper futures rose by 4.85 cents to 5.95 cents. Among them, the most actively traded copper futures for September 2023 closed at US$3.8995 per pound, up 5.6 cents or 1.46% from the previous trading day.
September copper traded in a range of $3.8205 to $3.904.
On Thursday, the U.S. dollar exchange rate index rose first and then fell, closing down. A weaker dollar means copper is more attractive to buyers holding other currencies.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index closed at 102.350, down 0.039.
Economic data released by China this week remained weak, further strengthening market expectations for more economic stimulus measures from China.
The near-term COMEX copper futures contract rose 1.85% so far this year, and Thursday's closing price was 11.28% higher than the same period last year, partly reflecting the market's optimism that China may introduce more economic stimulus measures.
In contrast, COMEX copper futures fell by 14.58% in 2022, reflecting the worrying outlook for global economic growth. High inflation has prompted central banks in Europe and the United States to actively raise interest rates to curb inflation, while rising borrowing costs have exacerbated the risk of economic recession. In the medium to long term, the green transition of the global economy and electrification are helping to boost additional demand for the metal, which is widely used in the power and construction industries, while copper mine production has been disrupted.
The most actively traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 930 yuan to close at 68,990 yuan a tonne on Thursday. Bonded copper for October delivery on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) fell 940 yuan to close at 61,310 yuan a tonne.
On Thursday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 105,992 lots, compared with 115,556 lots in the previous trading day; the number of empty positions was 233,983 lots, compared with 236,399 lots in the previous trading day.