(Bloomberg) -- Copper rose from its lowest close in more than two weeks as industrial commodities ticked higher before a keenly anticipated policy briefing by China’s government.
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Finance Minister Lan Fo’an is due to speak Saturday at a briefing now seen as key to judging the government’s commitment to more capital spending. Copper’s close on Wednesday was its lowest since Sept. 23, just before Beijing launched a blitz of moves to shore up flagging economic confidence.
Enthusiasm about China’s pro-growth pivot has cooled as investors look for clearer signs that the government will roll out policies — such as infrastructure investment — that will boost commodities demand.
“The PBOC’s effective support of equity markets could ultimately be beneficial to commodity markets,” ANZ Group Holdings analysts including Daniel Hynes said in a note. Stability in the real estate sector and stronger equity markets could see consumer sentiment rebound and bolster domestic confidence enough to lead to an economic rebound and stronger demand for commodities, they added.
Copper rose 0.4% to $9,711 a ton on the London Metal Exchange at 7:16 a.m. local time. Other industrial metals also gained, with aluminum up 0.5%. In Singapore, iron ore futures were 1% higher to $105.90 a ton.
--With assistance from Winnie Zhu.
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