Copper, aluminum bounce on tight supplies, China stimulus hopes

LONDON: Copper and aluminum prices rebounded on Friday after two days of declines, bolstered by tight supply, hopes of more Chinese stimulus and firmer oil prices.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange gained 0.6 percent to $10,378 a ton in official open outcry trading while aluminum climbed 1.1 percent to $3,421.

“Base metals have been tracking to some extent to what’s going on in energy markets, not least because that pushes up their costs,” said Caroline Bain, chief commodities economist at Capital Economics.

“Supply of most metals is constrained, stocks are low, so we’re forecasting prices will stay high for most of this year, even with the slowdown in China.”

Bain said metals prices may also be supported by optimism about major stimulus measures in China, although Capital Economics was wary about that.

“For now we’re sticking with the view that we’re not going to see a big stimulus package unless the COVID situation really deteriorates,” she said.

Shanghai on Friday announced a record 21,000 new cases and a third consecutive day of COVID testing as a lockdown of its 26 million people showed no sign of easing and other Chinese cities tightened curbs.