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Copper prices touched their highest in more than a week on Thursday, buoyed by upbeat trade data from top metals consumer China and a weaker dollar after U.S. inflation cooled.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) gained 1% to $9,003.50 a tonne by 1000 GMT after touching its highest since April 3.
Investors welcomed data showing China’s exports surged unexpectedly in March, snapping five straight months of declines and surprising economists who had predicted a 7% fall in a Reuters poll.
“The China data is superficially bullish in the sense that the economy is doing a lot better than people thought previously,” said Dan Smith, head of research at Amalgamated Metal Trading.
“But I think this rally will be quite short-lived. The China macro data looks strong, but the actual base metals sector definitely looks weak.”
Utilisation rates at copper fabricators went up in March but have been retreating, consistent with a traditional seasonal peak for the metals sector in the spring and an easing as summer approaches, Smith added.
The Yangshan copper premium SMM-CUYP-CN, which reflects demand for copper imported into China, eased to a one-month low of $28 a tonne.
China’s March copper imports fell 19% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Thursday, as domestic production climbed and higher global prices restrained interest.
The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 ended daytime trading 0.3% up at 69,170 yuan ($10,063.43) a tonne.
Also boosting the metals sector was a weaker dollar =USD, which fell to a two-month low on Thursday after data showed that U.S. inflation slowed sharply in March.
The softer dollar makes commodities priced in the U.S. currency more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Among other metals, LME aluminium gained 1.5% to $2,359.50 a tonne, zinc rose 1% to $2,811.50, lead firmed by 0.67% to $2,141 and tin CMSN3 jumped 1.4% to $24,365 while nickel CMNI3 was down 0.4% at $23,475.