New York, April 24 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) fell on Monday, mainly reflecting concerns about slower economic growth and metal demand due to central bank interest rate hikes, as well as weak demand for metals in China.
As of the close, copper futures fell from 1.85 cents to 2.7 cents. Among them, the most actively traded May 2023 copper closed at $3.954 per pound, down 2.6 cents or 0.65% from the previous trading day.
May copper traded in a range of $3.95 to $3.999.
Next week, the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will hold monetary policy meetings, and the market is currently expecting these central banks to raise interest rates to curb high inflationary pressures. Higher borrowing costs will slow economic growth and weaken demand for metals.
Although China's economy, the largest metal consumer, is growing, it is mainly driven by consumer demand, while the real estate industry is still growing weakly, and metal demand tenders have not rebounded as strongly as some people expected. Shanghai Yangshan copper premiums fell to $23 a tonne, the lowest since March 10, reflecting weakening Chinese demand for imported copper.
The Federal Reserve’s Dallas branch reported on Monday that manufacturing activity in Texas contracted in April, underscoring the damage to economic activity caused by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive policy of raising interest rates over the past year.
The near-term contract of COMEX copper futures fell 3.69% so far this month and rose 3.88% so far this year. The closing price on Monday was 11.15% lower than the same period last year and 19.80% 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.
From the perspective of fund dynamics, the position data released by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed that speculative funds bought net in the copper futures market for the second week in a row last week. As of April 18, 2023, speculative funds held a net long of 19,768 lots in the COMEX copper futures and options market, an increase of 13,786 lots from a week ago, and a net purchase of 1,864 lots last week.
The June 2023 copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed down 580 yuan at 68,400 yuan a tonne on Monday. Bonded copper futures for June delivery on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) fell 800 yuan to 60,680 yuan a tonne.
In registered warehouses of the Shanghai Futures Exchange, copper inventories fell to 146,016 tons last Friday, down 3,467 tons from 149,483 tons a week earlier. 40.2%.
On Monday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 109,617 lots, compared with 111,487 lots in the previous trading day; the volume of short positions was 200,254 lots, compared with 200,816 lots in the previous trading day.
微信扫一扫打赏
