New York, April 21 news: Copper futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) fell on Friday, closing below the $4 mark across the board. The weekly chart also closed with a negative line, mainly because of concerns about the central bank raising interest rates to curb global economic growth, and the rising dollar also brought pressure.
As of the close, copper futures fell by 4.2 cents to 4.65 cents. Among them, the most actively traded May 2023 copper closed at US$3.98 per pound, down 4.65 cents or 1.26% from the previous trading day.
May copper was trading in a range of $3.9735 to $4.032.
Copper fell 1.97% for the week, its second drop in three weeks.
On Friday, the U.S. dollar exchange rate index closed at 101.552 points. Although it was down 0.01% from Thursday, it was up 0.30% from a week ago, which was the first rise in nearly two months. A rising dollar is bearish for copper prices, as it means the dollar-priced metal is more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.
COMEX copper (near-term contract) has fallen 3.03% so far this month, but is still up 4.59% so far this year, mainly because the market expects China's economy and metal demand to resume growth in 2023. The closing price of copper on Friday was still 13.15% lower than the same period last year, and 19.25% lower than the historical peak in March 2022. In contrast, COMEX copper futures fell by 14.58% 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, which exacerbated the risk of economic recession. In the medium to long term, however, a green transition to the global economy and electrification will help boost additional demand for the metal, which is widely used in power and construction, while copper mine production has been disrupted.
From the perspective of the external market, the June 2023 copper futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 840 yuan to 68,830 yuan/ton on Friday (April 21), down 1,120 yuan or 1.60% from 69,950 yuan a week ago. Bonded copper futures for June delivery on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) fell 780 yuan to 612,100 yuan a tonne, down 1,110 yuan or 1.78 percent from a week ago.
On Friday, the trading volume of COMEX copper futures was 111,487 lots, compared with 91,142 lots in the previous trading day; the number of empty positions was 200,816 lots, compared with 202,999 lots in the previous trading day.
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