Copper futures advanced toward $6.60 per pound on Monday, rebounding from last week’s decline as stronger-than-expected economic data from China, the world’s largest consumer of the metal, brightened the demand outlook. China’s economy expanded 4.5% in the third quarter, up from a three-year low of 4.3% in the second quarter and above the consensus forecast of 4.4%. Industrial production rose 5.5% year over year in September, accelerating from 5.2% in August and beating expectations of 5.4%.
On the supply side, copper prices found additional support from tightening market conditions, as labor strikes and adverse weather disrupted mining operations in Chile, the world’s leading copper producer. At the same time, demand remained underpinned by strong growth prospects in data center infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, and battery energy storage systems.
