With financial markets closed in the U.S. on Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King holiday, attentions turned to commodities, with copper continuing to gain in price.
According to a report in the Financial Times, Copper pricing on the LME briefly rose to a 6½-year high on Monday.
The LME’s three-month copper contract jumped $42 per metric ton for the day, at one time rising to $2,436, reaching a level last seen in the summer of 1997. Copper closed the day not far from that high, closing down $7 from the peak at $2,429 per metric ton.
Aluminum is also gaining value, closing Monday at $1,623 per metric ton, reaching levels last seen in February of 2001, according to the Financial Times.
Other nonferrous metals gaining value in early 2004 include lead, zinc, tin and nickel. “All base metal prices are near multi-year highs, mainly due to robust Chinese demand,” the London-based newspaper reported.
Chinese government statistics continue to point to that nation’s influence, with end-of-year 2003 calculations showing copper imports up 15 per cent and nickel imports up 110 per cent.Latest from Recycling Today
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