Copper rises after stock rebound and possible interruption of shipments from Peru

Copper prices rose on Thursday, helped by the recovery of global equity markets, falling inventories of the metal and the threat of a disruption in shipments from a major mine in Peru.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Bureau (LME) was up 2.01% at $ 9,227 a tonne at 1205 GMT.

But prices have fallen from the all-time high of $ 10,757.50 a tonne reached in May, as growth in the world economy lost momentum. Copper is likely to continue declining before demand picks up steam, independent analyst Robin Bhar said.

“If you are thinking of trading copper until the end of the year, you are probably in the short realm. But beyond that period, the placement will probably pay off in the long term.”, He highlighted.

Global stocks picked up on Thursday as expectations grew that Washington will be able to resolve the differences between Democrats and Republicans over the debt ceiling, while a drop in energy prices cooled fears of “stagflation.”

A community in the Espinar province of central Peru has plans to indefinitely block a major road for copper transit, a local leader said.

Copper inventories recorded in LME warehouses fell to 82,850 tonnes from 168,075 tonnes as of September 21. Stocks in the warehouses of the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) stand at 43,525 tonnes, their lowest level since 2009.

Copper market analysts are revising their metal price forecasts following the crisis in China’s construction and energy supplies sector.

The 200-day moving average for copper prices is around US $ 9,150 a ton and a drop below that threshold could worsen the technical outlook.

Among other metals for industrial use, aluminum rose 0.8% to US $ 2,918.15 a ton; zinc was up 0.4% at US $ 3,026.50 a ton; nickel added 0.5% to US $ 18,160 a ton; tin rose 1% to US $ 35,505 a ton; and lead fell 0.1% to US $ 2,149.50 a ton.