Due to the market assessing the impact of the Chinese policy briefing this weekend, copper prices rebounded on Thursday (local time, October 10) after hovering near a two-week low.
The price of copper for December delivery on the New York Commodity Exchange rose by 1.1% from Wednesday’s settlement price, reaching $4.44 per pound ($9,768 per ton) in early trading.
As investors await clearer signals regarding the Chinese government’s implementation of policies such as infrastructure investment to stimulate commodity demand, enthusiasm for the government’s shift toward growth-promoting measures has cooled.
Finance Minister Lan Fu’an is scheduled to speak on Saturday at an event currently viewed as a key opportunity to assess the government’s further commitments to capital expenditure.
Analysts at ANZ Group, including Daniel Hynes, indicated in a report that the effective support from the People’s Bank of China for the stock market could ultimately benefit the commodity market. The stabilization of the real estate sector and a stronger stock market may enhance consumer confidence, potentially triggering an economic rebound and stronger demand for commodities.
Analysts from ING stated, “We continue to expect fiscal stimulus measures to be announced in the coming weeks and months, and we have raised our economic growth forecast for China in 2025 from 4.6% to 4.8% in anticipation of more robust policy support.”
Recent global financial market optimism has waned, with investors awaiting the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes for new clues on interest rate policy, leading to a cautious market sentiment. Overall, expectations of a soft landing for the U.S. economy are strong, while continued tightening of real estate policies in China is likely to boost industrial metal consumption. Additionally, demand on the consumer side is also recovering, and multiple policy implementations could help limit declines in copper prices.
