By Reuters
LONDON: Copper prices fell on Monday after a jump in available inventories in London Metal Exchange-approved warehouses and a firmer dollar triggered selling while above-consensus loan data from top consumer China provided some support.
Benchmark copper on the LME traded 0.7% lower at $9,595 a metric ton in official rings. Strong technical support exists around $9,565, the 100-day moving average. At 109,625 tons, headline copper stocks in LME warehouses are only up 900 tons. However, traders are looking at inventories that were cancelled or earmarked for delivery but were then re-warranted.
More than 26,000 tons of copper that was due to leave the LME system in Asia was re-warranted, meaning those volumes can again be traded on the exchange.
President Donald Trump last week announced a 50% copper tariff effective August 1. Traders said the cancelled inventories had likely been intended for shipment to the United States ahead of import tariffs, which the industry had expected would be announced