3M LME copper traded in the range of $9.739-$11.104,5 in May. Although it started May
cautiously, it tested the lowest level of the month at $9.739 on Thursday, 02.05.2024. LME
copper, which rose after seeing this level, tested its all-time high level of $11.104.5 on Monday, 20.05.2024, with the support of China's real estate support measures and better-than-expected industrial data, and then faced losses under the pressure of weak demand in China and the Fed's hawkish minutes. 3M LME copper closed May with a 0.93% gain at $10.125.
Copper prices tested $10.208, the highest level since April 2022, but above the $10.000 level, as supply concerns highlighted by BHP Group's takeover bid for Anglo American and China's manufacturing PMI index reached 50.4 in April It faced losses due to the impact of profit sales and completed the 1st week of May with a loss of 0.46% at $9.914.
After the London Metal Exchange remained closed for Bank Holiday on May 6, LME copper rose as high as $10.118, boosted by renewed hopes for a US interest rate cut this year, promises of support from Chinese officials and increased risk appetite spreading through equity markets, China's improving trade. It completed the 2nd week of May at $10.040 with a 1.27% gain, supported by data and real estate support measures.
3M LME copper reached its highest level since April 2022 at $10.720 last week, as the inflation data announced in the USA increased expectations of an interest rate cut, the support of increasing Chinese demand and supply cuts, and strong Chinese industrial production data strengthened expectations for demand. tested it and completed the 3rd week of May at $10.715 with a 6.72% gain.
3M LME copper, after testing an all-time high of $11.104,5 on Monday (20.05.2024), supported by China's real estate support measures and better-than-expected industry data, ended the 4th week with of May a 3.56% loss at $10334, under the pressure of weak demand in China and the Fed's hawkish minutes.
The London Metal Exchange remained closed on 27 May due to Bank Holiday. 3M LME copper ended the last week od May down 2.56% at $10.069, remaining under pressure after Wednesday's Beige Book report showed economic activity continued to strengthen but inflation increased and Chinese manufacturing data disappointed.
MONTHLY REVIEW & INDUSTRY NEWS
The global refined copper market showed a 13,000 metric tons surplus in April, compared
with a 123,000 metric tons surplus in March, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG)
said in its latest monthly bulletin.
For the first 4 months of the year, the market was in a 299,000 metric tons surplus compared
with a 175,000 metric tons surplus in the same period a year earlier, the ICSG said.
World refined copper output in April was 2.29 million metric tons , while consumption was
2.28 million metric tons.
When adjusted for changes in inventory in Chinese bonded warehouses, There was a 33,000
metric tons surplus in April compared with a 136,000 metric tons surplus in March, the
ICSG said.
Peru's copper production in April fell 8.2% year-on-year to total 203,905 metric tons,
government data showed.
Kazakhstan's January-May refined copper output jumped 15.6% year on year while crude
steel production rose 3.6% and refined zinc output fell by 3.7%, data from the statistics
bureau showed.
China's refined copper production in May increased just 0.6% from the prior year to 1.09
million metric tons, data from the country's National Bureau of Statistics showed.
China's unwrought copper imports rose 15.8% in May from a year earlier, data from the
General Administration of Customs showed.
Manufacturing production in Chile grew 5.1% in April on a yearly basis, the country's INE
statistics agency said, well above the decrease of 2.1% seen last month.
Copper output in the Andean nation, the world's largest producer of the red metal, dropped
1.5 year-on-year in April at 408,454 metric tons, the agency added.
Mining giant BHP and the union representing workers at its Spence copper mine in Chile
have agreed to extend contract negotiations, said BHP for now putting off the risk of a
strike.
"In metals, risk appetite has faded recently, but that was necessary after a very strong move
that was not justified at the time," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo
Bank in Copenhagen.
"Copper has been hit the hardest by the fading hopes of a global manufacturing recovery,"
said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke, who cited weakness in China's May industrial
output and a slowdown in investment in metals-intensive assets.
"The key underlying driver in the copper market is still that of a tight supply function and
rising demand for electrification," Saxo Bank said.
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