Rising Copper Inventories and Weak Demand in China Drive Down Prices

2023-09-05 03:14:54

The price of copper fell on Tuesday, weighed down by rising inventories at exchange warehouses and worries regarding demand amid lackluster economic data in China, the main consumer.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.3% to $8,428 per metric ton at 0226 GMT, while the most traded October copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE ) lost 0.6% to 69,320 yuan ($9,508.79) a tonne.

Copper inventories in LME-registered warehouses rose to 107,425 tonnes, the highest since October 2022, with most August deliveries going to warehouses in the United States, South Korea and Taiwan.

SHFE copper inventories rose for the second straight week last week, albeit at a moderate pace.

Services activity in China grew at the slowest pace for eight months in August, once more underscoring slowing activity in the world’s second-largest economy and largest consumer of metals, despite efforts to boost consumption .

Metal prices were supported by a weaker dollar, which makes metals cheaper for holders of other currencies, and Friday’s data which showed a surprising expansion in factory activity at forward-looking companies. export to coastal areas of China.

LME aluminum was down 0.7% at $2,196.50 a tonne, nickel was up 0.1% at $21,070, zinc was down 0.6% at $2,465.50 , lead was down 1.2% at $2,197 and tin was down 0.3% at $26,305.

SHFE’s aluminum was down 1.4% at 18,955 yuan a ton, nickel was down 0.3% at 170,670 yuan, zinc was down 0.2% at 21,230 yuan, lead was down fell 2.7% to 16,510 yuan and tin rose 1.6% to 221,550 yuan.

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DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0430 Australie RBA Cash Rate Sept

0750 France S&P Global Serv PMI Aug

0750 France HCOB Composite PMI Aug

0755 Germany HCOB Services PMI Aug

0755 Germany HCOB Composite Final PMI Aug

0800 UE HCOB Serv Final PMI Aug

0800 UE S&P Global Comp Final PMI Aug

0830 UK Composite Final PMI Aug

0830 UK Reserve Assets Total Aug

1400 US Manufacturing Orders MM July

($1 = 7.2901 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Writing by Eileen Soreng)

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