LONDON- Copper prices rose, hitting a second weekly gain, on hopes of improved demand from top consumer China and lower inventories.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.2 percent at $8,361 a metric ton after touching the highest since May 11 at $8,451 and briefly breaking above the 200-day moving average of $8,381.
The metal used in the construction and power sectors is up 1.5 percent so far this week, moving further away from a six-month low touched on May 24, on expectations that China will launch a stimulus package.
“Base metals got a boost this week on hopes for Chinese stimulus measures after government advisors said Beijing should cut interest rates as part of a package of support policies amid country’s economic slowdown,” said ING analyst Ewa Manthey.
In the United States, a surge in weekly jobless claims raised hopes that a peak in the Federal Reserve rates was near.
Copper stocks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 11.7 percent this week to a six-month low of 76,473 metric tons, while LME’s on-warrant copper stocks resumed their decline after Thursday’s gains.
Among other metals, LME aluminum rose 0.4 percent to $2,263 a metric ton. The market kept a close eye on rain forecasts in China’s main aluminum producing region Yunnan, where reduced hydropower generation kept part of the metal production capacity offline for months. – Reuters
