New York, August 1 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) fell sharply on Tuesday, falling below the $4 mark, as manufacturing data in major economies such as China remained weak, while the U.S. dollar rose to a three-week high. High point, triggering a surge of long profit-closing orders.
As of the close, copper futures fell by 8.7 cents to 10.1 cents, and the most actively traded September 2023 copper futures fell 9.95 cents or 2.48% to close at $3.9085 per pound,
September copper traded in a range of $3.904 to $4.024.
The dollar rose 0.45% to a fresh three-week high on Tuesday, weighing on dollar-quoted metals as a strong greenback means copper is more expensive for buyers holding other currencies, crimping prices and demand .
Weak manufacturing data from China, the U.S. and the euro zone this week also raised concerns about sluggish demand for metals, triggering profit-taking by bulls. In the just-concluded July, copper rose 6.6%, which was also the biggest monthly gain since January, as the market expected more stimulus measures from China to support economic growth.
The near-term contract of COMEX copper futures rose 2.31% so far this year, and the closing price on Tuesday was 10.47% higher than the same period last year. In contrast, copper futures fell 14.6% in 2022, as the outlook for global economic growth is worrying, and high inflation has prompted central banks in Europe and the United States 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 rose 1,140 yuan to 70,490 yuan a tonne on Tuesday. Bonded copper futures for October delivery on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) rose 1,000 yuan to 62,740 yuan a tonne.
On Tuesday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 134,596 lots, compared with 140,169 lots in the previous trading day; the volume of short positions was 240,799 lots, compared with 237,156 lots in the previous trading day.