Copper is the latest metal to be lifted by the possibility it too could be the target of US tariffs coupled with tight supply.
Futures were up 1.2% to US$4.69 ($7.47) a pound at 7.30am AEDT on Thursday (13 February).
ANZ Senior Economist Adelaide Timbrell says following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on aluminium and steel, many traders believe copper is also in his sights.
“Signs of tightness also boosted sentiment. China has tightened requirements around building new copper smelters,” she says.
“Companies must control enough mine supply to feed the plants, according to a development plan issued by 11 ministries. Only a handful of projects are expected to meet this requirement.”
Iron ore prices also climbed higher as Cyclone Zelia threatens to disrupt Australia’s largest bulk commodity port, Port Hedland in Western Australia.
Zelia is intensifying and slowly moving north of Port Hedland to bring “very destructive winds and very heavy rain” to the Pilbara coast, as reported by Mining.com.au this morning.
US equities dipped overnight with US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell taking a ‘watch and wait’ approach to Trump’s policies before committing to further rate cuts.
However, in Australia the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was relatively flat in early trade, up just 7.1 points to 8,542.4 points at 10.30am AEDT.
The index has advanced 0.25% over the past five days and is 0.29% below its 52-week high.
Seven of the 11 sectors gained ground, with materials rebounding from its recent decline to register a 0.47% shift up after the opening bell. Energy moved up a marginal 0.03% while industrials edged down 0.07%.
The ASX itself climbed 7.38% to $68.09. Lithium miners Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) and Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) were also among the early movers, as was gold heavyweight Newmont (ASX:NEM).
The S&P/ASX200 is Australia’s leading share market index and contains the top 200 ASX-listed companies in terms of market capitalisation, and accounts for about 80% of the country’s equity market. The index is designed to measure the performance of the 200 largest index-eligible stocks listed on the ASX by float-adjusted market capitalisation.
It is recognised as the institutional investable benchmark in the country.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: ASX & iStock
