Copper recovered from five-week lows on Monday, bouncing from initial declines as market focus shifted to improving fundamentals while gold prices stabilised after dropping the most in three-and-a-half years in the previous session.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.6 per cent at $9,819 per tonne by 10am GMT, having earlier slipped to the lowest level since May 2 at $9,741 after speculators cut bets on higher prices.
Traders expect further buying on Tuesday when China returns from the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.
The sell-off had started on Friday after US data showed strong jobs growth in May, suggesting that the Federal Reserve might not cut interest rates as soon as previously expected.
This prompted the US currency to bounce, making dollar-priced metals more for expensive for holders of other currencies in a relationship used by funds to generate buy and sell signals from numerical models.
“Such an outsized reaction can only happen in the futures markets if traders square their positions based on some sort of automated trading,” said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.
“The fundamental backdrop looks sound, but we need to see what happens whether this global manufacturing recovery everybody is expecting – based on PMIs – actually materialises.”
Surveys of purchasing managers in top consumer China show factory activity picking up, particularly at smaller companies.
However, worries about Chinese demand remain owing to rising inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Copper stocks have reached four-year highs of 336,964 tonnes, compared with about 30,000 tonnes in January.
Also indicating weakness in the Chinese market is the Yangshan copper premium, which reflects the country's demand for copper imports. The figure has been at or below zero since May.
Traders were also awaiting loans and social financing data for clues on Chinese demand prospects.
In other metals, aluminium was down 0.6 per cent at $2,563 a tonne, zinc climbed 1.1 per cent to $2,798, lead slipped 0.4 per cent to $2,191, tin was up 0.8 per cent at $31,695 and nickel gained 0.1 per cent to $18,055.
Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent at $2,296.76 per ounce, as of 9.33am GMT. Meanwhile, US gold futures fell 0.5 per cent to $2,313.80.
Bullion lost about $83 on Friday, declining 3.5 per cent in its biggest one-day drop since November 2020 after a stronger-than-expected US jobs report dented hopes for a September rate cut and news on China's central bank holding off gold purchases put off investors betting on Chinese demand.
“People's Bank of China has never been a constant buyer,” Mr Menke said. “There have been distinct phases of buying followed by multi-month breaks. But, as long as the PBOC doesn't resume buying, gold prices could trade sideways because the China buying topic is a key market focus.”
“Given that we had this decisive sentimental move on Friday, I'd be very surprised if we get a similar-sized volatility outbreak this week again unless there's a major surprise on the CPI side or the Fed side, but that seems quite unlikely.”
Market focus has shifted to the US consumer inflation report, due on Wednesday, the same day as the Fed's policy decision.
The US central bank is not expected to make any change this week, and focus will be on comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell and changes to economic projections from policymakers.
Bets of the Fed cutting rates in September fell to 49 per cent from around 70 per cent before the jobs data.
“We expect a lift in the Federal Reserve's median 'dots plots' to two cuts this year (from three); but inflation should still moderate, and a September cut is our base case,” UBS said in a note.
Spot silver rose 1.7 per cent to $29.67 per ounce, platinum was up 0.5 per cent at $968.40 and palladium was steady at $912.15.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
RESULT
Kolkata Knight Riders 169-7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals 144-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata win by 25 runs
Next match
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders, Friday, 5.30pm
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
The British in India: Three Centuries of Ambition and Experience
by David Gilmour
Allen Lane
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
FIGHT CARD
From 5.30pm in the following order:
Featherweight
Marcelo Pontes (BRA) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) v Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Welterweight
Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR) v Gimbat Ismailov (RUS)
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) v Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (BEL) v Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
Catchweight 100kg
Mohamed Ali (EGY) v Marc Vleiger (NED)
Featherweight
James Bishop (AUS) v Mark Valerio (PHI)
Welterweight
Gerson Carvalho (BRA) v Abdelghani Saber (EGY)
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) v Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Bantamweight:
Fabio Mello (BRA) v Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magemedsultanov (RUS)
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) v Jayson Margallo (PHI)
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Roman Golovinov (UKR)
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
