Copper prices steadied on Wednesday, buoyed by hopes of more support measures from top consumer China, while investors refrained from making big bets ahead of a U.S. central bank interest rate decision.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was up 0.2% at $7,547.50 a tonne, as of 0438 GMT, after declining 0.3% in early trade.
The most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 rose 0.4% to 58,260 yuan ($8,610.45) a tonne by the midday break.
“Expectation around China’s rescue package for the real estate sector is basically lending support to base metals prices,” said Kunal Shah, head of research at Nirmal Bang Commodities.
“The IMF (International Monetary Fund) indicating that we are on the brink of a recession means that the demand side for metals doesn’t look very lucrative.”
Supply is going to be tighter because of the power crisis in Europe and, thus, copper and zinc are likely to outperform in the base metals complex, he added.
Offering some respite amid growing demand worries, China will launch a fund worth up to 300 billion yuan ($44 billion) to help to ease a debt crisis in the property industry, a state bank official told Reuters.
INTEREST RATES: The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday.
INDUSTRIAL FIRMS: Profits at China’s industrial firms bounced back to growth in June, bolstered by the resumption of industrial activity in major manufacturing hubs.
COPPER: MMG Ltd 1208.HK is exploring giving annuity-type payments to communities, as opposed to one-time payouts, as part of a strategy revamp following longstanding protests at its massive Las Bambas mine in Peru, executives said on Tuesday.
GROWTH: The IMF cut its global growth forecasts again, noting that high inflation and the Ukraine war could push the world economy to the brink of recession.
PRICES: LME aluminium CMAL3 gained 0.2% to $2,427 a tonne, zinc CMZN3 eased 0.3% to $3,029, lead CMPB3 fell 0.5% to $2,013.50 and tin CMSN3 was steady at $24,485.
Shanghai aluminium SAFcv1 gained 1.6%, zinc SZNcv1 rose 0.1%, nickel SNIcv1 fell 0.8%, lead SPBcv1 was down 0.2%, while tin SSNcv1 lost 1.4%.
