With 2015 drawing to a close, some good news for previously flailing copper as an increase in demand from top buyer China is providing an uptick in price.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, “the most actively traded copper futures contract, for March delivery,” is up 1.65 cents, or 0.8%, to $2.0675 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“No doubt this is the only positive thing you’ve seen in quite some time in copper,” Charles Nedoss, senior market strategist with LaSalle Futures in Chicago, told the news source.
Chinese copper imports reached 460,000 metric tons last month, up 9.5% for the year, claims data from China’s General Administration of Customs. While this increase is welcome, context is important as copper imports from January to November 2015 were still down 2.8% compared to the same time period last year.
“There is still substantial appetite in China for this metal…prices are also quite difficult for miners to sustain,” Vivienne Lloyd, a base metals analyst at Macquarie, told the news source.
Dollar Declines
Last week, we reported some big news for currency markets as the dollar fell dramatically while other currencies, including the euro, saw a rise in value. Says our own Raul de Frutos: “So far, this is only a one-day decline and buyers need to focus on the big picture. Longer term, things are still pointing to a strong dollar and depressed commodity prices. A smaller stimulus by the ECB doesn’t seem to be enough to stop the dollar from rising as we move forward, but it is something to keep an eye on.”
How will copper and base metals fare for the remainder of 2015 and into 2016?