Copper up to above 3.37 on Indonesia Ban

Copper futures rose after Indonesia imposed a ban on mineral ore exports while silver and natural gas extended gains. Asian stocks outside Japan rose a second day and South Korea’s won gained after U.S. payrolls data damped prospects for an acceleration in stimulus cuts.

Copper futures for March delivery gained 0.5 percent on the Comex in New York to $3.3585 per pound by 9:15 a.m. in Tokyo. Silver added 0.3 percent, rising a second day, while gas futures jumped 2 percent. Brent crude rose 0.2 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index climbed 0.3 percent as shares rebounded in Korea, where the won rose a fourth day. Japan’s yen extended gains while the Thai baht slipped amid a blockade in Bangkok. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were steady.

Indonesia started prohibiting all raw ore exports from yesterday while allowing shipments of minerals processed or refined in the southeast Asian nation, which accounts for 3 percent of global copper supply, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. U.S. employers hired the fewest workers since January 2011 last month, a report Jan. 10 showed, with payrolls rising 74,000, trailing the 197,000 increase estimated in a Bloomberg survey. Japanese markets are closed for a holiday today.

Bloomberg

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.