Copper on COMEX climbs 12% in a week

Copper positions on the US COMEX rose 12% to 74,143 contracts in a week, the highest level since February, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Speculative investor support helped lift copper prices last week on the London Metal Exchange to $ 6,000 a tonne for three-month contracts. Prices were also supported by robust physical demand, as seen in the growing European and Asian premiums, the highest since December 2014.

Data released by China's General Directorate of Customs on Monday showed that 340,000 tons of copper waste and scrap metal were imported in June, up 24% year-on-year and 9.8% month-over-month. In January-June, imports of copper and waste in China amounted to 1.85 million tons, which is 18.6% more than in the previous year.

A six-week strike at BHP Billiton's Escondida mine and lower production at Codelco contributed to a 12 percent cut in production in Chile, the world's largest copper producer. This resulted in a 3.5% reduction in global copper ore shipments from mines in the first four months of 2017, according to ICSG.