Net  long  copper  positions  on  US  commodities  exchange  COMEX   rose  15%  to  85,485 

contracts in the week ended July 25, the highest since February, Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission data showed Monday. 

It   was  the  second consecutive increase in bullish money mangers' positions, up 27% in the 

last two weeks, but below January's record net long position of just over 100,000 contracts. 

Long  positions  are  already at  a  record  high  of  121,087  contracts,  against 35,602 short 

contracts. 

Speculative  investor support helped copper prices top two-year highs last week, three-month 

contracts  on  the  London  Metal Exchange moved above $6,400/mt Monday for the first time 

since May 2015. 

Prices  up  6%  on  the week  and  as much as 10% in the last two weeks have benefited from 

rising confidence in the Chinese economy as well as supply constraints. 

Factory activity continued to rise in China in July, according to official data released Monday, 

although  at  a lower rate than June. Manufacturing PMI was reported at 51.4, versus 51.7 in 

June. 

The   world's  second  largest  economy  and  biggest  metals  consumer  recently  reported 

economic growth of 6.9 % for the second quarter of 2017, above expectations and setting it 

on course for its first annual year-on-year growth rate since 2010. 

China malso  surprised  market at the end of last week with an announcement to import less 

copper scrap from 2018. Expectations are for restrictions to apply to scrap with a low copper 

content  of  around  14%,  which  currently  constitutes  60-70%  of scrap imports into China, 

according to some analysts. 

Warehoused copper stocks have fallen around 8% in the last three weeks, according to LME 

exchange data, to just below 300,000 mt Monday.