MCX Copper is striding high in the early moves today as a renewed optimism in the commodity space after a bullish Chicago PMI continues to pop the metal up. The US copper finished at 16-month highs Monday, pushed up by lower inventories of the metal on the Shanghai futures exchange and a weaker U.S. dollar amid light, holiday-crimped trading.
A strike at Chile`s Altonorte smelter plant owned by Xstrata lent further support to prices, even as workers in the country`s giant Chuquicamata copper mine run by Codelco were expected to vote against work stoppage.
Benchmark copper for March settled up 4.40 cents, or 1.3 per cent, at $3.3365 per pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange`s Comex division. The contract had surged during the session to $3.3440, its loftiest level since Aug. 25, 2008.
The Chicago Business Barometer surged to 60.0, the third month of expansion. The production index increased 8.2 points to 65.8, the new orders index moved slightly higher to 63.5 and the order backlogs index rose 6.5 points to 53.0.
The Business Barometer jumped to 60.0 in December, the highest level in four years. The production, new orders and order backlogs indices also rose. Employment increased for the first time in more than two years.
COMEX Copper currently trades at $3.3655, up 2.85 cents from the previous close. MCX Copper futures opened at Rs 344.95 per kg and hit a high of Rs 347 in no time. The counter currently trades at Rs 346.25, up Rs 1.60 or 0.46% from the previous close with 1.80% drop in the open interest. Prices are nudging close to the Rs 350 threshold and some selling might emerge in intraday moves around this level.
Source : Capital Market
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Copper