Copper Climbs for First Time in Three Sessions as Chinese Imports Rebound - Bloomberg

Copper rose for the first time in three sessions on signs that demand is rebounding in China, the world’s biggest consumer.

Chinese imports rose for the first time in three months in June as buying from overseas became profitable and supply tightened after consumers drained local stockpiles. There are “strong signs” that the country will “come back and buy in a more aggressive way,” according to Codelco, the top producer. Prices slid 3.7 percent in the first six months of the year as demand waned.

“Copper has a strong fundamental story,” said Rich Ilczyszyn, a market strategist at Lind-Waldock, a broker in Chicago.

Copper futures for September delivery rose 2.35 cents, or 0.5 percent, to close at $4.3915 a pound at 1:10 p.m. on the Comex in New York. The price lost 1.7 percent in the previous two days.

The metal has gained 46 percent in the past year, reaching a record $4.6575 on Feb. 15.

On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months added $80, or 0.8 percent, to $9,650 a metric ton ($4.38 a pound).

Aluminum, lead, nickel, tin and zinc also rose in London.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yi Tian in New York