Copper rises on China import data, U.S. debt talks remain in focus

Investing.com - Copper futures were higher on Monday, boosted by data showing copper imports from top consumer China surged to the highest level since March 2012 last month.

Gains were limited as investors assessed the potential for an agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avert default before the October 17 deadline.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for December delivery traded at USD3.291 a pound during European morning trade, up 0.65%.

Copper prices traded in a range between USD3.245 a pound, the daily low and a session high of USD3.298 a pound.

The December contract settled 0.63% higher at USD3.269 a pound on Friday.

Copper prices were likely to find support at USD3.227 a pound, the low from October 11 and resistance at USD3.321 a pound, the high from October 8.

According to China's General Administration of Customs, inbound copper shipments totaled 457,847 metric tons in September, the highest since March 2012.

The figure was nearly 18% higher than copper imports in the previous month.

Total imports of copper in the third quarter rose 21.4% over the preceding quarter to 1.26 million tonnes, according to the customs data.

Copper traders now looked ahead to a raft of Chinese economic data later in the week, including reports on gross domestic product, industrial production and retail sales.

Data released earlier in the day showed that consumer price inflation in China rose 3.1% in September, above expectations for a 2.9% increase and accelerating from 2.6% in August.

The inflation report came after data over the weekend showed that China’s trade surplus narrowed sharply in September as exports declined unexpectedly.

China’s trade surplus narrowed to USD15.2 billion last month from a surplus of USD28.6 billion in August, compared to estimates for a surplus of USD27.7 billion.  

Chinese exports fell 0.3% from a year earlier, defying expectations for a 6% increase and following a 7.2% gain in August.

The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.

Meanwhile, meanwhile, markets were growing increasingly concerned over negotiations to raise the U.S. debt ceiling.

Negotiations between U.S. President Barack Obama and House Republicans broke down over the weekend, fuelling concerns that a deal to raise the government borrowing limit would not be struck ahead of Thursday’s deadline to avert an unprecedented U.S. sovereign debt default.

Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for December delivery rose 0.55% to trade at USD1,275.20 a troy ounce, while silver for December delivery added 0.6% to trade at USD21.38 a troy ounce.