Copper on the Shanghai market traded lower this week with investors choosing equities and oil, an area where a domestic rally was overflowing into Asian markets.
According to a report from Reuters, three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange did find some support, trading 1.1% higher, which offset losses from the previous session.
However, the Reuters report also stated that LME copper stayed close to the four-month lows reached earlier this week as the market suffered from weak demand stemming from China and falling imports.
The most popular copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped to $6,558 a ton, Reuters reported, a decline of 0.71%.
Copper Bears Take Over
Just this week our own Raul de Frutos wrote of the commodity outlook shifting for copper buyers, as well as buyers of aluminum, steel and tin, and that the bears are taking over:
De Frutos wrote:
About a month ago I noted that while industrial metals were on the rise, commodities were range-bound, a sign of sluggish global demand. As I had written, ‘a healthy bull market in base metals should be accompanied by a bull market in other commodity markets.’
Commodities not only have struggled to make new headway but in the past few days they weakened significantly. Recent moves in China have caused a significant shift of sentiment in financial markets.
De Frutos cited several issues, including oil prices taking a dip and China curbing its credit, to signal that the bull market for commodities might be coming to an end.
How will copper and base metals fare in 2017? You can find a more in-depth copper price forecast and outlook in our brand new Monthly Metal Buying Outlook report. For a short- and long-term buying strategy with specific price thresholds:
by Kyle Fitzsimmons