LONDON, Nov 4 (Reuters) – Copper prices rose on Thursday after two days of losses, helped by a tight supply of metals and the Federal Reserve’s promise to go easy when interest rates rise in states. United.
* At 1205 GMT, three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 1% at $ 9,551.50 a tonne. Prices have risen more than 20% this year after the 26% jump in 2020, but have been declining since May, when they hit a record high of $ 10,747.50.
* Global stocks hit all-time highs after the Fed said Wednesday it would cut its bond buying program but wait for more job growth before raising credit costs.
* The Bank of England also kept interest rates unchanged Thursday, defying expectations of a rate hike.
* Copper is supported by higher coal prices in China that have raised production costs, according to Gianclaudio Torlizzi of consultancy T-Commodity. China is the country with the largest volume of metal smelting.
* Torlizzi said he expected increases in red metal prices as the global semiconductor shortage eases, global growth improves, supply stays tight and the Fed maintains ultra-expansive monetary policy.
* “Production costs have increased and that will create a higher floor for prices,” he said. “I see this as an opportunity to go back long.”
* On-warrant inventories in deposits registered with the LME have increased to 38,450 tonnes, but remain close to historical lows.
(Reporting by Peter Hobson, additional reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi. Edited in Spanish by Janisse Huambachano)