Copper bounces from 3-week low; Fed decision in focus

Business Recorder reported that copper edged up on Wednesday after recovering from a low of more than three weeks, even as traders priced in a US Federal Reserve rate hike later that day. On the London Metal Exchange, the three-month contract advanced 0.53% to $14,158 a ton at 0330 GMT, having touched $13,926 on Tuesday. Shanghai's most-active copper contract climbed 0.64%, reaching 107,610 yuan or $16,037.97 per ton.

Traders now see the odds of a 25-basis-point Fed hike above 90%, compared with nearly 60% a week ago, given persistent inflation. Higher borrowing costs usually slow economic activity, which tends to hurt demand for industrial metals, while the dollar sits near a two-week peak and oil stays above $100 a barrel. According to the Chinese brokerage Jinrui Futures, lower treatment fees, feeble smelter profitability and thin inventories are cushioning prices.

Chinese buying interest also firmed, with the Yangshan premium for imported copper touching $110 a ton on Tuesday, a level not seen since early August. Stocks in exchange warehouses nonetheless kept climbing, with registered LME holdings at 249,225 metric tons as of Monday. The metal slipped back from record levels reached last week, as Reuters noted the White House was still weighing tariffs on refined copper. Aluminium, zinc, lead and nickel also posted gains on the LME, with nickel up the most at 0.77%.