Copper price extends gain on Chinese recovery while US election looms
Copper rose for a third day on hopes that Beijing will unveil more support measures, while analysts said prices could rally further once the result of the US election is known.
Prices climbed as much as 0.9% after China’s monthly services activity expanded at the fastest pace since July, following better-than-expected indicators from official and private factory gauges last week. Taken together, the reports suggest recent stimulus may be having some impact.
The government is widely expected to outline more steps to aid the economy when the National People’s Congress’ Standing Committee meets this week. Senior officials have been dropping hints of a major announcement, according to Bloomberg Economics.
Metals including copper fell last month as initial optimism over China’s efforts to spur growth turned into doubts over their effectiveness. The market will be watching the closely fought US election Tuesday, with results starting to come through the following day in Asia.
Copper has rallied on election day in nine of the 10 previous cycles, Citigroup Inc. said in a note. The metal could rise temporarily to $10,000 a ton over the coming week, it said, citing Chinese and US monetary easing, a risk-on tone for stocks if Donald Trump wins, or easing tariff fears if Kamala Harris is victorious.
Copper advanced 0.7% to $9,759.50 a ton on the London Metal Exchange as of 4:11 p.m. local time. Aluminum climbed 1.4% after figures from Shanghai Metals Market showed Chinese inventories fell to the lowest since February.