Commodities
Copper Surges, Gold Rallies on Weaker US Labour Market
Copper has been exceptionally firm over the past week, trading around $6.65 per pound in the US and close to $14,400 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange.
The strength in the copper market is not simply a story of accelerating global growth, but rather the tightening physical market outside the United States.
More than 200,000 tonnes of copper arrived in the US during July, causing US-based COMEX and LME warehouses to accumulate more than 740,000 tonnes of copper by late July.
The futures curve is also reinforcing the same message, with LME cash copper trading around $208 per tonne above the three-month contract, a condition known as backwardation that is normally associated with tight immediate supply.