After pushing down prices on rising inventory levels, copper traders have turned more bullish, supporting back-to-back session gains in the base metal and related exchange traded note on an more optimistic global outlook.
The iPath Dow Jones-UBS Copper Subindex Total Return ETN (NYSEArca: JJC) was up 0.6% Thursday. JCC has jumped 8.1% over the past three months, but it is still down 3.7% year-to-date.
COMEX copper futures were up 0.4% Thursday, trading around $3.279 per pound.
Copper prices have steadily incrased since March and is up 7% over the past two-weeks, reports Xan Rice for Financial Times.
Vivienne Lloyd, base metals analyst at Macquarie, argues that copper has rallied from a surge in fund manager interest in commodities, notably in industrial metals, in response to the stronger second-quarter growth.
“Funds have started to look at commodities with a gleam in their eye again and are allocating more money to the sector,” Lloyd said in the article.
The U.S. and China, which account for over 40% of global demand for base metals, have supported the strength in copper after more positive economic data. China is also expected to increase demand by 5.5% this year, allaying concerns of a slowdown. [Strong Global Demand Lifts Copper ETFs to One-Month High]