Copper holds near 29-month high as vaccine good news keeps coming
<p style="text-align: center;"><img title="1606192205101873.jpg" alt="7.jpg" src="/ueditor/php/upload/image/20201124/1606192205101873.jpg"/></p><p>Copper on Monday held near Friday's 29-month high as another coronavirus vaccine breakthrough added to hopes for a strong global economic recovery, boosting stock markets and oil prices.<br/><br/>AstraZeneca said its vaccine could be around 90% effective, the third major pharmaceuticals company to announce successful trials this month.<br/><br/>A U.S. health official, meanwhile, said COVID-19 shots could reach the first Americans by mid-December.</p><p><br/></p><p>Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.6% to $7,233.50 a tonne in official trading but was close to Friday's peak of $7,294.50 and well above last week's average.<br/><br/>Copper has rallied 65% from a low in March as China's metals-intensive economy rebounded and speculative investors piled into the market.<br/><br/>While the dollar weakened against some major currencies, it strengthened against the yuan, making metals pricier for Chinese buyers.<br/><br/>This may have dampened demand for copper in China, stalling its momentum, said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.<br/><br/>But he said prices could still move higher.<br/><br/>"The global economy is coming back with a vaccine," he said.<br/><br/>ECONOMY: Euro zone business activity contracted sharply this month but news of possible vaccines boosted hopes for 2021, surveys showed on Monday.<br/><br/>POSITIONING: Speculators expect higher LME copper prices, raising their net long position to 14.6% of active contracts by Thursday, brokers Marex Spectron said.<br/><br/>STRIKE: One of the unions on strike at Chile's Candelaria copper mine accepted a 30-month collective agreement from Lundin Mining Corp on Friday.<br/><br/>CHILE: Chile's copper production will likely edge up 0.6% to 5.82 million tonnes in 2020 and climb to 5.99 million tonnes in 2021, state copper commission Cochilco said.<br/><br/>ALUMINIUM: China's aluminium imports fell 27.9% in October from September, as the spread between domestic and international prices continued to narrow.<br/><br/>COLUMN: Zinc prices are soaring on a supply squeeze even as stealth stocks build, writes Andy Home.<br/><br/>METALS PRICES: LME aluminium was down 0.4% at $1,985.50 a tonne, zinc fell 0.9% to $2,768, nickel slipped 0.5% to $16,065, lead lost 0.4% to $2,006.50 and tin was flat at $18,790.<br/><br/>On Friday, aluminium reached a two-year high, zinc an 18 month peak and lead its highest since January.</p>
24 Nov,2020
