Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange were up by approximately 1% at the close of trading on Thursday September 6, propped up by a raft of fresh buying and a softer dollar index, while a downswing in aluminium prices came amid escalating US-Sino trade tensions.
With more than 100,000 tonnes booked for removal since August 20, total on-warrant copper inventory remains at its lowest level since December 2017. That said, copper's three-month price continues to battle strong macroeconomic headwinds, namely the persistent trade rift between the United States and China, which is capping investment and driving prices lower. "The fact that copper held its mid-August low [of $5,773 per tonne], after coming within $30 per tonne of retesting this week, may have also encouraged some technicians to call for a short-term bounce," INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in an afternoon report. "But outside of all this, markets are in a holding pattern, waiting to see how the Canadian...