Copper hit a fresh all-time high today as tight supply in Shanghai sent Chinese speculators scurrying to snap up the industrial metal.
In midday trade three-month LME copper rose $22, or 0.7 per cent to a record high of $3,330 a tonne, beyond Monday's peak of $3,320 in London. The previous high, $3,308, was set on March 31st.
Strong demand from China, which is expected to consume 22 per cent of the world's copper in 2005, and tight global supply have supported copper prices that have risen more than 5 per cent this year.
"The copper price is on course for the next chart objective at $3,340/50, although obviously traders will be displaying some caution ahead of the US trade figures," Triland Metals analyst Roy Carson said.
Copper contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange surged across the board as dealers covered short positions. Dealers in Shanghai said a supply squeeze on spot copper had pushed up the April contract, leading others in its wake.