Copper rises thanks to optimistic economic outlook from the Federal Reserve

Copper prices rose more than 3% on Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve gave an optimistic view of the outlook for the world’s largest economy, which strengthened the appetite for risk.

Copper’s benchmark three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 3.2% to $ 9,496 a tonne as of 1135 GMT, on track for its biggest daily gain since October.

“Rising US interest rates next year is a sign that the economy is in good shape and the Fed is giving the impression that everything is under control.”Said Daniel Briesemann, an analyst at Commerzbank.

The Fed said the U.S. economy will remain resilient despite the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus and referred to low unemployment figures, clearing the way for three interest rate hikes of a quarter of a percentage point through the end. of 2022.

The company MMG Ltd said it would not be able to continue production at its Las Bambas copper mine in Peru. The mine represents 2% of the world’s copper supply.

Copper stocks at LME-registered warehouses rose to 89,475 tonnes, cutting their year-to-date decline to 6%. Meanwhile, spot copper on the LME had a premium of US $ 22 a tonne over the three-month contract.