CHARTS: The coming critical minerals trade war is BRICS short of a load
"While a large number of countries around the world continue to talk about securing raw material supply, China is actually doing something about it."
The copper price rose on Friday on signs of some industrial recovery in China.
Copper for delivery in December rose by 1.9% on the Comex market in New York, reaching $3.64 per pound ($8,008 per tonne).
[Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices]
“From a short term perspective, we’ve managed to hold above a very key area of support, which has given a little confidence back to the market,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.
LME copper has bounced after touching an 11-month low of $7,856 on Monday to nudge above the 21-day moving average on Friday.
Profits at China’s industrial firms extended gains for a second month in September.
“What was a pretty tough month has been somewhat mitigated by those announcements from China,” Hansen added.
Despite the recent gains, it will be a struggle for copper to rally further, he said.
“There are still the economic worries about not only China, but the wider world, we have not seen anything which could trigger a meaningful extension to the upside.”
Also supporting metals was a pause in a rally in the dollar index, making greenback-priced commodities less expensive in other currencies.
(With files from Reuters)
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