COMEX May 15 Copper Roundup

New York, May 15 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) rose on Monday, extending last Friday's rebound, mainly due to the weak dollar exchange rate, which supported copper prices.

As of the close, copper futures rose by 2.1 cents to 2.65 cents, of which the most actively traded July 2023 copper closed at $3.751 per pound, up 2.25 cents or 0.60% from the previous trading day.

July copper traded in a range of $3.7005 to $3.779.

The U.S. dollar retreated from a five-week high on Monday, making dollar-denominated metals cheaper for overseas buyers. In afternoon trading, the dollar index was down 0.3% at 102.40. It touched a five-week high of 102.75 in early trade.

However, the lingering risk of a U.S. recession and debt default limits the room for copper prices to rebound. US President Joe Biden is expected to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday to discuss the issue. Before the talks took place, McCarthy said that the two sides still had great differences. The prospect of an unprecedented U.S. debt default fueled fears of a U.S. economic slowdown. Risk assets have yet to adequately react to the risk of a U.S. government default, according to the BlackRock Investment Institute.

The recent COMEX copper futures contract has fallen 3.42% so far this month and 1.79% so far this year. The closing price on Monday was 10.94% lower than the same period last year and 24.17% lower than the historical peak reached in March 2022. COMEX copper futures fell by 14.6% 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, exacerbating the risk of economic recession. In contrast, copper has recorded two consecutive years of gains of 25% in 2020 and 2021, as the green transition of the global economy and electrification help boost additional demand for the metal, which is widely used in the power and construction industries, while copper mines face challenges. Disruptions such as underinvestment and production disruptions.

The June 2023 copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed up 600 yuan at 64,830 yuan a tonne on Monday. July bonded copper futures on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) rose 510 yuan to 57,300 yuan a tonne.

From the perspective of fund dynamics, the position data released by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed that last week, speculative funds sold a net of 35,000 lots in the copper futures market for the third consecutive week. As of May 9, 2023, speculative funds held a net short position of 16,170 lots in the COMEX copper futures and options market, an increase of 503 lots from the previous week, and a net sell of 5,178 lots in the previous week.

In warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange, copper inventories fell to 118,383 tons on Friday, down 16,536 tons from 134,919 tons a week earlier. 53.1%.

On Monday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 67,968 lots, compared with 96,397 lots in the previous trading day; the number of empty positions was 211,704 lots, compared with 211,583 lots in the previous trading day.