Copper Claws Higher on Hopes for China Infrastructure Push

COPPER - LONDON. Copper and other base metal prices rebounded on Wednesday, buoyed by hopes that China will unleash a wave of metal-intensive infrastructure spending to counter the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) added 0.4% to $9,897 a tonne by 1010 GMT, after falling about 7% over the past week up to Tuesday.

"The focus over the past few weeks has been the Chinese lockdowns and the Fed hikes are hurting growth," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.

"But today the focus is on comments calling for an all-out infrastructure push in China, which is something the market likes. Whether it's enough to call a floor in the market, it's probably too early to say."

Read Also: Oil Prices Steady as Russia Supply Fears Meet Asian Demand Concerns

China will step up infrastructure construction to boost domestic demand and drive economic growth going forward, state TV reported on Tuesday.

Also boosting sentiment were comments by China's central bank saying it would step up prudent monetary policy support to the real economy.

The most-active May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended daytime trading up 0.3% at 73,320 yuan.