Copper sees gain alongside oil
BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes COPPER prices rose on Thursday alongside oil after firming on Wednesday as major mines warned that the coronavirus crisis would cut output. Thursday, spurred by rising tensions in the Middle East, output cuts by producing nations to tackle oversupply and the promise of more government stimulus to ease the economic pain of […]
BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes
COPPER prices rose on Thursday alongside oil after firming on Wednesday as major mines warned that the coronavirus crisis would cut output.
Thursday, spurred by rising tensions in the Middle East, output cuts by producing nations to tackle oversupply and the promise of more government stimulus to ease the economic pain of the new coronavirus pandemic.
Copper prices rose on Thursday as major miners warned that the coronavirus crisis would cut output and financial markets stabilised after two days of chaos caused by oil price falls.
Benchmark copper was up 1.9 percent at US$5,124.50 a tonne, after tumbling almost three percent on Tuesday, Zambia Industrial Commercial Bank (ZICB) said.
Analysts however said the gains were unlikely to be sustained as poor demand prospects were likely to be reinforced by data showing further economic deterioration due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Prices of the metal used in power and construction fell to a four-year low of US$4,371 in March as the coronavirus spread, but had rebounded to US$5,248 by Monday as lockdowns disrupted supply and China, the biggest consumer, began to reopen,” ZICB said.
Meanwhile, Cavmont Bank Zambia indicated that the Kwacha on Thursday continued to reverse its gains it had made the previous day owing to a wane in supply while demand continued to pick up.
It said the local unit began the day trading at K18.300 / K18.350 but was later seen being quoted at K18.450 / K18.500 by mid-morning.
By noon, the Bank explained, the currency pair was seen being quoted at K18.500 / K18.550.
“When compared to its closest peer the South African Rand, the local unit seems resilient as the Rand depreciated further against the US dollar to an intra-day low of $1/ZAR19.1755.
“The Kwacha’s recent performance indicates that its likely to trade between K18.150 and K19.100 in terms of support and resistance against the US dollar,” Cavmont said.
The Sun
