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London copper edged up on Monday but was still holding near its lowest in nearly four weeks as China’s copper imports fell in July and a solid jobs report boosted prospects the US Federal Reserve could still raise rates this year.
China’s copper imports fell 14 per cent to 360,000 tonnes in July from the previous month, customs data showed on Monday, as softer summer demand in the world’s top consumer slowed down buying.
“Demand growth in copper’s key end-use sectors remains relatively weak,” said Morgan Stanley in a note.
“We therefore expect 2H copper import requirements to continue to decline - a bearish development given 2016 mine supply growth has so far beaten expectations.”
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.5 per cent to $4,813 a tonne by 0717 GMT, partly recovering from the previous session when it plumbed its weakest since July 12 at $4,783.
Shanghai Futures Exchange copper finished flat at 37,540 yuan ($5,647) a tonne.
US jobs report
Copper prices fell on Friday as the dollar rose after US employers hired more in July.
More top Wall Street banks now expect the Fed to raise US interest rates in 2016, a Reuters poll conducted on Friday had showed. A stronger dollar curbs commodity demand by eroding the buying power of those paying with other currencies.
Traders said spot copper demand in China has been very low in July, traditionally a slow period for demand due to summer holidays. A step-up in exports has kept the local market tight, but not enough to shift up premiums, a source at a trading house in Shanghai said.
Meanwhile, the LME will cut fees for short-dated trades from September 1, it had said on Friday, in what sources say is an attempt to halt a slide in trading volumes since charges were hiked across the board last year.
Elsewhere, hedge funds and money managers slashed their net long position by 11,185 contracts to 18,143 contracts, CFTC data showed.
A flurry of new metal trading desks that has sprung up this year reflects an industry realignment as bigger players downsize, but in a market still strapped for capital only the thriftiest will survive, industry sources said.
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