Copper Climbs to Highest in Two Years as Bulls See Deficit (Bloomberg) -- London Metal Exchange aluminum stocks rose to the most since November 2021 after a second big delivery into warehouses in Malaysia’s Port Klang in a matter of days.
The huge influx of aluminum into the LME in the past week is fueling fears of a new round of trading games and a potential queue if that metal is in turn canceled and buyers look to withdraw it from the exchange.
Exchange inventories rose by 131,075 tons, or 15%, to 1.03 million tons in data reported by the bourse on Tuesday. That follows an increase of over than 500,000 tons last Friday. Three-month aluminum futures dipped 0.5% in mid-day trade in London.
Copper prices ticked up but pared some gains after earlier trading at a two-year high of $10,255.50 per ton. Copper prices have defied typical indicators of soft demand, especially in China. That’s partly because investors see tight mine supply creating a shortfall of the metal as early as this year.
“Investors are pricing beyond near-term cyclical uncertainty and weakness in physical demand indicators,” Citigroup Inc. analysts said in an emailed note Monday. The bank sees copper climbing to $10,500 a ton in the near term amid a “looming tightening” of supply.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/copper-climbs-to-highest-in-two-years-as-bulls-see-deficit-1.2072525