New York, July 19 (Reuters) - Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) fell for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, as the U.S. dollar rose and the top metals consumer failed to deliver major stimulus.
As of the close, copper futures fell by 1.55 cents to 2 cents. Among them, the most actively traded September 2023 copper futures fell 1.55 cents or 0.40% to close at $3.814 per pound.
September copper traded in a range of $3.781 to $3.8385.
A rise in the U.S. dollar on Wednesday weighed on dollar-quoted metals, as it would make dollar-quoted copper more attractive to buyers holding other currencies. The dollar index rose 0.36% against a basket of currencies on Wednesday.
Growth in China's fiscal revenue slowed in the first six months of the year, data showed, pointing to mounting economic pressure and fueling expectations for new stimulus. On Tuesday, China's economic policymaking body, the National Development and Reform Commission, said it would introduce measures to stimulate consumption to support economic recovery. But there is still little consensus among analysts on how much this will boost metals demand.
Some analysts believe that China may not stimulate infrastructure and real estate industries, which are metal-intensive, as much as in the past.
The industrial metals market could struggle in the short term unless there is more confidence in the economic recovery in top metals consumer and the outlook for demand improves, analyst Edward Moya said.
The near-term contract of COMEX copper futures has risen 1.56% so far this month. The closing price on Wednesday rose 14.12% compared with the same period last year, but it has fallen 0.16% so far this year, which is 22.92% lower than the historical peak of $4.929 hit in March 2022, mainly due to Weak demand in the U.S. and Europe and interest rate hikes by major central banks have weighed on growth; China's economy has performed worse than earlier expected this year.
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 most actively traded August 2023 copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed up 370 yuan at 68,240 yuan a tonne on Wednesday. Bonded copper futures for October 2023 on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) rose 280 yuan to 60,720 yuan a tonne.
On Wednesday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 64,070 lots, compared with 70,105 lots in the previous trading day; the number of open positions was 26,862 lots, compared with 213,954 lots in the previous trading day.
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