Copper prices fell on Monday as investors feared weaker-than-expected trade data from top consumer China.
China’s copper imports fell 8% in May over the previous month as higher prices further dampened buying interest, beating overall export growth analysts’ expectations.
“When we receive data like this from China, it shows the risk that their rapid growth will start to slow down,” said Ole Hanson, head of goods at Choxo Bank in Copenhagen.
“This is a market that has lost momentum and traders are responding and reducing their exposure. I am not saying the rally is over, but the market may need a consolidation period and it will be even shorter. ”
Three-month copper was up 1.7% at $ 9,875 on the London Metal Exchange on Friday, up 1.7%, or 0.8% at 1,000 GMT.
LME copper has risen 27% so far this year, pulling back from a record high of $ 10,747.50 last month, driven somewhat by the hope that a green revolution will trigger higher demand for copper from new applications, including electric vehicles.
If prices prolong the recession, they will move toward a 50-day moving average of $ 9,655, Hansen said.
The Yangtze copper premium, which was paid above the London price for supplying body copper to China, has been at $ 28 per tonne since 2016.
Weighing in on the metals market is a solid dollar index, which is the U.S. dollar. Made currency-priced products more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
LME aluminum was down 1.1% per tonne, nickel was down 1.4% at 7,17,775, zinc was down 0.9% at 9,983.50, lead was down $ 2,136 and tin was down 1.2% at $ 30,500.
