Copper rallied as traders shrugged off hawkish messaging from the Federal Reserve chair, with signs of increased buying activity in China boosting sentiment.
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Prices advanced 1.8 per cent to settle at US$14,491.50 a metric ton in London, climbing alongside equities as investors were undeterred by a widely expected interest rate hike by the United States central bank on Wednesday.
Policymakers at the Federal Reserve pencilled in an additional increase for later this year — a potential headwind for metals demand in capital-intensive manufacturing and industrial sectors. Still, the Fed’s hawkish messaging and a decline in oil prices helped to support broader confidence across markets that the central bank can keep inflation under control.
Copper also got a boost on signs that China’s spot demand for copper is rising, with the premiums that importers pay above futures to secure cargoes in Shanghai’s Yangshan port climbing sharply over recent days.
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The metal is still consolidating after slumping from a record last week. Copper had rallied on bets that the U.S. would hit the refined metal with tariffs, with an ongoing surge in U.S. imports triggering concerns about a supply squeeze elsewhere.
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Yet so far the U.S. has held off on new trade measures, putting that rally in doubt. Expectations of high demand from data centres and renewable energy, as well as supply disruptions at key mines, are still providing support.
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“Reports of no U.S. copper tariffs unwound some of the physical market speculation,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Sam Crittenden said in a note. “Despite near-term price weakness, fundamentals remain constructive.”
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All other base metals moved higher, with zinc rising 1.8 per cent and aluminum climbing one per cent.
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