Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was up over 1% at the close of trading on Wednesday February 20, breaching $6,400 per tonne for the first time since July 2018 amid high volumes and dwindling LME stocks.
Total volumes traded in copper led the complex with more than 21,000 lots changing hands by the close, the most since January 4. Despite significant buying over the afternoon, open interest in copper edged lower over the day's trading, falling back below 409,000 positions after clocking a high of more than 413,000 positions last week, the highest since December 2018. Additionally, LME data now shows one dominant warrant position holding 50-79% of LME warrants, while two positions sit at 50-79% of tomorrow/next and cash positions, and one more at 30-39% of cash positions, taking the total to five. "The Chinese have been relatively cautious about putting stimulus into the economy but they have been more active recently. That has made market participants a little bit more constructive on copper," Bank of America Merrill Lynch commodities strategist Michael Widmer told Fastmarkets. "Right now we...