The Comex copper market was closed on Thursday and Friday for the US Thanksgiving holiday. In the meantime, London prices advanced from a low on Wednesday at $4,020 per tonne to a high on Monday at $4,224 a tonne.
As a result, copper prices on the Comex gapped higher at the open to chase London prices higher with spot copper hitting a new all-time high, December setting a contract high above $2.0 a lb. for the first time and new benchmark March approaching its lifetime peak.
Benchmark December futures on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped 4.75 cents to close at $2.0160 a lb., and hit a contract high at $2.0170.
March copper was up 5.00 cents at $1.9110 a lb., approaching its high at $1.9120 a lb. Spot November jumped 4.00 cents to close at a record-breaking high of $2.18 a lb.
"Strong day. This sets the stage for $1.95 (a lb.), with this strong settlement in March (copper). After on Wednesday's comeback, and the gap higher at today's open, it's so strong, it didn't give up anything on the close, you could gap above the recent high in March and then be off to the races again," said Pioneer Futures senior trading analyst Scott Meyers.
Comex estimated final copper volume at 27,000 lots, with 5,417 attributed to switches, similar to last on Wednesday's tally at 27,597 lots.
Rollovers out of December and into March copper continued on Monday.
With open interest in March exceeding December, March is starting to take over as the benchmark contract.
Traders said it continues to look strong. One trader pointed out that the CFTC's delayed commitment of trader data showed that speculators are still adding to long positions.
"We had some follow-through buying today. Some was speculators and some was trade buying. That led to stop-loss buying," said one trader. Meyers warned, however, that as prices rise further into uncharted territory, taking long positions becomes more risky.
"With all these new highs you have to watch out for profit taking. That seems to be happening, so you have to be careful. It could lead to losses of 8 to 10 cents, but then it may come right back," Meyers said.