Comex copper prices rallied for the third straight session on Thursday February 7 with the market growing more optimistic on the red metal's prospects through the first quarter.
The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 1.05 cents to $2.8470 per lb.
Market activity remains stunted with Chinese participants sidelined due to the Lunar New Year. Once they return on Monday February 11, global investors will be eyeing Chinese and US trade talks and any recent developments.
"Despite the absence of meaningful tightness in the refined copper market at this juncture - resulting from seasonally low demand - we expect the copper price to continue to move higher on positive macro sentiment," Fastmarkets MB analyst Boris Mikanikrezai said.
"While investors were excessively bearish at the end of last year due to growing recession fears (triggering a significant sell-off across risk assets), copper has enjoyed a short-covering rally since the start of the year. This is attributable to the fact that investors have corrected their excessive positioning," he added.
In precious metals, the Comex price of gold for April dipped $2.60 or 0.2% to $1,311.80 per oz. Trade has ranged from $1,306.40 to $1,315.80.
Currency moves and data releases