LONDON- Copper prices paused their rally on Friday but ended the week with a 7 percent gain thanks to a weaker dollar and hopes that China’s dismantling of COVID-19 restrictions will lift demand.
Other industrial metals were also on course for hefty weekly gains, with aluminum, zinc and tin up by between 10 percent and 14 percent from last Friday.
Benchmark copper was roughly unchanged on the day at $9,190.50 a ton, retreating from Thursday’s seven-month high of $9,240.
China’s zero-COVID policy stifled metals demand in the world’s biggest metals consumer.
The abandonment of the policy has caused a wave of COVID-19 infections likely to last for two to three months.
“(But) most investors are looking through that turbulence at the potential for Chinese copper demand to move markedly upwards,” said WisdomTree analyst Nitesh Shah.
“Above $10,000 (a ton) should be easily in reach,” he said, adding that copper supply is likely to remain tight this year.
A Chinese official on Friday pledged further support from the central bank for manufacturers and small companies.
China’s 2023 copper consumption is projected to rise 4.4 percent to 14.8 million tons, Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research said. – Reuters
