Last Friday night, the London Metal Exchange (LME) copper prices was 8,245 dollar/metric tonnes, up 0.67 percent. 20K lots were traded, and 254K lots were in open interest. On the macroeconomic front, the United States dollar increased the previous Friday and registered its largest weekly profit since February.
This was mostly because the drop in the consumer confidence index increased market worries about the United States debt ceiling & monetary policy, which in turn increased demand for the United States currency.
According to Shree Metal Prices data, the amount of copper that was in stock across the main Chinese markets as of April 12 was 152K metric tonne, decreased 15,400 metric tonne from May 8 & 16,100 metric tonne from last 2 Fridays.
Compared to the same time previous year, the inventories increased by 33,100 metric tonne. All other regions had a decline in stockpiles, with the exception of Tianjin, where they marginally rose.
The price differential between copper cathode & copper scrap shrank as a result of the ongoing severe decline in copper prices, prompting cable & wire factories to increase their buying of copper rod made from copper cathode. This increased the need for copper cathodes.
Recently, the import window opened, and copper imports will undergo customs clearance. The previously revealed data increased market predictions regarding an American economic downturn.
Prices are under pressure because to the instability of the financial markets, and there isn’t enough local demand to raise copper prices.