Copper Prices Climb for Sixth Session on Chinese Buying Frenzy

Copper prices continued their upward trend for a sixth consecutive session on Tuesday, driven by China's buying activity ahead of upcoming holidays. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.7% to $14,758 per metric ton in official open-outcry trading.

The price increase is partly due to falling inventories and constrained spot availability in China. Ewa Manthey, commodities strategist at ING, noted that 'copper is finding support from tightening physical market conditions in China.'

Chinese buyers are stockpiling copper ahead of the holidays, which run from September 25 to 27 and October 1 to 7. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.2% to 111,320 yuan ($16,616) per ton.

However, some analysts are cautious about the price gains, predicting that they may be approaching a ceiling. Robert Montefusco at broker Sucden noted, 'I think it's a little bit inflated up here.'