China stainless steel mogul fights to avoid a second collapse
A debt crisis is threatening the future of one of the world’s top stainless steel producers, Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry.
The copper price rose on Thursday, supported by a weaker dollar as investors bet on a pause in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve in May.
The dollar was under pressure after the Fed raised its benchmark funds rate by 25 basis points, as expected.
Copper for delivery in May on the Comex market in New York touched $4.11 per pound ($9,042 per tonne), up 1.7% compared to Wednesday’s closing.
[Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices]
The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced 0.7% to 68,530 yuan ($10,024.43) a tonne.
The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced 0.7% to 68,530 yuan ($10,024.43) a tonne.
The focus is now likely to return to fundamentals, ANZ Research said in a note, adding that sentiment was supported by signs of stronger demand in China early this week.
Green energy-related demand accounted for around 9% of the total demand for Chinese copper in 2022, and this will keep rising to around 30% by 2050, according to Eleni Joannides, copper research director at consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
Meanwhile, China’s refined copper production in the first two months of 2023 rose 10.6% to 1.95 million tonnes year-on-year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
Globally, the world’s refined copper market had a 103,000 tonnes surplus in January, compared with a 10,000 tonnes surplus the previous month, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said.
