Copper prices continued to rise on Wednesday, buoyed by optimism over potential new stimulus measures from China, the world’s largest metals consumer. On the London Metal Exchange (LME), three-month copper increased by 0.3%, reaching $10,010 per metric ton.
Since the U.S. interest rate cut on September 18, copper has risen by 7%, further supported by China’s recent stimulus announcements. According to Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree, more fiscal stimulus from China is expected, particularly in sectors like energy transition, electric vehicles (EVs), and solar panels, which are crucial for base metals.
Despite low trading volumes due to holiday closures in China and India, rising oil prices, spurred by Middle East tensions, have provided additional support to metals as they increase mining and processing costs. A broker noted that technical factors and market sentiment are currently driving copper prices upward, with a potential escalation in the Iran-Israel conflict likely to push prices even higher.
Meanwhile, other base metals also saw movement: aluminium edged down 0.1%, nickel rose 1.3%, zinc increased 0.1%, lead climbed 1.2%, and tin added 0.3%.
The LME aluminium contract for October traded at an $18 premium over November, indicating tight near-term supply.
