Copper futures boosted after comments from PBOC governor

Copper futures ended higher Friday on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), after the governor of the central bank said it might adjust monetary policy slightly if needed, according to a report Friday by London-based metal information provider Metal Bulletin (MB).

The most-traded copper contract for delivery in July finished at 46,740 yuan ($7,524.63) per ton, up 540 yuan or 1.17 percent from Thursday. This was also a rise of 0.11 percent week-on-week. The trading volume climbed by 44,298 lots compared to Thursday's 434,694 lots.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said Friday at the Boao Forum for Asia that China's central bank will use monetary policy fine-turning if economic growth is in danger of falling below the 7.5 percent target for 2014.

Zhou's remarks helped to boost investors' confidence and raise expectations that the government will implement stimulus plans in the future, according to Xi'an-based Western Futures Co Friday.

Sentiment had been dampened Thursday, after the General Administration of Customs released data showing that China's trade volume contracted by 3.7 percent in the first quarter this year compared to the same period last year.

Experts said the weak recent data indicated that China is still facing downward economic pressure.

In addition, increasing physical copper inventories and weak demand domestically have put pressure on copper prices, according to a report released by Dongguan-based Hualian Futures Co Tuesday.

From the start of this year to the end of February, the physical copper inventory in SHFE warehouses increased 58 percent, according to a report released by Australian investment bank Macquarie Group in early March this year.

Copper demand from downstream enterprises such as real estate and home appliance industries is still quite weak at present, and this will remain the case in the coming months, the report from Hualian Futures said.