Copper fell on Friday as concern mounted over the recovery of some of the world’s largest economies, but rising Chinese demand and low inventories kept prices on track for a weekly gain. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 1.7% at $6,492 a tonne at 1554 GMT. Copper is on track for a 2% rise this week. “There is a continued risk-off sentiment on the macro-economic front which started yesterday,” said ING analyst Wenyu Yao. “Despite this, the market has an overall positive view on copper as Chinese demand has been recovering well … that is still in place despite the shock from headwinds recently.”
U.S. ECONOMY: The number of new U.S. unemployment benefit claims unexpectedly rose back above 1 million last week. U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers, meanwhile, have said more monetary policy easing may be needed to revive the world’s largest economy.
EU RECOVERY: Data from France and Germany showed the European economies were struggling to recover from the impact of the coronavirus.
BRIGHT SPOT: Economic data released this month points to economic improvement in China, including rising auto sales and factory activity.
INVENTORIES: Copper stocks in LME warehouses were at a 13-year low of 103,475 tonnes. The lack of available metal has pushed the cash copper contract into a premium of about $18.50 over the three-month contract from a discount last week.
LEAD OVERSUPPLY: A surplus in the global lead market fell to 16,300 tonnes in June, from 45,300 tonnes in May, International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) data showed.
ZINC BALANCE: The global zinc market surplus narrowed to 2,000 tonnes in June, from 19,000 tonnes in May, ILZSG data showed.
PRICES: LME aluminium fell 1.4% to $1,764 a tonne, after touching a seven-month high in the previous session.
Zinc slipped 1.6% to $2,450, lead was down 1.1% to $1,973, tin rose 0.3% to $17,630 while nickel gained 0.3% $14,695.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Zandi Shabalala, additional reporting by Mai Nguyen; editing by Barbara Lewis and Christina Fincher)