(Nov 10): Copper extended its rebound from last week’s slump, tracking a rally in technology shares due to the metal’s use in power infrastructure and data centres.

The industrial metal has moved in tandem with artificial intelligence stocks in recent months. It had slumped 2.7% to a three-month low last week as concerns rose that the Democrats’ sweep of US midterm elections could mean greater regulation of AI.

Stocks advanced on Tuesday (Nov 10), with South Korea’s tech-heavy Kospi Index the top performer in the region. In China, the market was hit by a supply squeeze that’s driving a rapid surge in spot premiums to record levels.

The tightness has started to bring in more imported cargoes as traders aim to take advantage of an arbitrage window to bring in metal from overseas at a profit, Jinrui Futures Co said in a note.

Investors were also monitoring a major shortage in the global aluminium market fuelled by declining stockpiles of the crucial industrial commodity. Buyers are facing rising prices for spot metal and there is little immediate prospect of relief before new shipments from Indonesia arrive. 

Copper rose 0.3% to US$13,937 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange as of 10.52am in Shanghai (same time as Malaysia). Aluminium slipped 0.3% to US$3,058.50 while other metals edged higher. Iron ore was down 0.2% at US$92.55 a tonne in Singapore.

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