After being one of the best performing commodities in all of 2017, up an astonishing 26%, it appears that copper is looking to make another run for the contract highs. Supported by strong fundamentals, a robust global economy and key technical indicators we should see this market well supported. Copper imports at key Chinese shipping ports have shown strong increases recently indicating that their demand has not slowed down. The LME copper stocks have continued to decline while Shanghai is building to meet current demand.

Looking at the technicals the key level of support is $3.07 which is the 50-day moving average and should be used for risk management purposes. The most attractive part of the chart pattern is the fact that ADX is starting to rise with stochastics coming out of oversold territory. Usually this type of pattern is one of the most consistent and predictable.

Copper Dec ’17 Daily Chart

Copper Dec '17 Daily Chart

Phillip Streible

Early in his career Phillip began trading his own account as a screen trader focusing on the metals, grains and stock indices. He then became a Series 7 licensed financial consultant with A.G. Edwards. Later, he expanded his trading experience into a Series 3 licensed commodity broker with Investment Analysis Group. Most recently he was a senior market strategist at MF Global before joining RJO Futures in October 2011 as a senior commodities broker. As a senior commodities broker his goal is to show clients how to anticipate, recognize and react to bull and bear market conditions through the use of technical analysis techniques that help them to define risk.