Reuters commentary (9-22) LME Market: The base metals broke short-term technical corrections on Wednesday afternoon and resumed this week’s rally and set a new high. “The trading volume has become very active again in the afternoon and the speculators are actively buying. "A trader said that aluminum futures and copper futures hit a five-month high, while lead and zinc futures also performed brilliantly. They once rose to seven-month highs and six-week highs, respectively. Although the market seems to be overbought, However, the rising positive sentiment keeps the rising momentum intact. Occasional surges in stocks are considered to have a short-term effect. Almost all markets have a trend of falling stocks and reverse prices. "Investors do not currently all sell short, so this wave is falling. The situation is likely to be short-lived, especially after the re-appearance of buying. "The trader said. LME copper: three-month copper movement fluctuated, hitting a high of 2,940 previously in the overseas market, then fell below 2,900, in the evening market composite trading It has risen again. Copper finished at 15 dollars higher at 2,915 dollars per ton. "The period of copper needs to close above 2,900 dollars, and it does, so copper is expected to challenge 2,940/2,950 again." Dealer said. Analysts said that North America Copper producer Asarco's labor The negotiation of the contract reached an impasse and supported the period price. Asarco is a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico, the third largest copper producer in the world, producing about 150,000 tons of refined copper each year. LME aluminum: three-month aluminum rose to 1,810 The US dollar rose by 8 US dollars. The intraday volatility fluctuates around 1,800. COMEX Copper: Copper futures closed at a six-month high on Wednesday, and a short covering in the late session triggered technical fund buying, pushing the price to an intraday high. The London Metal Exchange (LME) gained momentum, ignoring the strengthening of the US dollar. The 12-month copper futures rose and ended the day up 2.80 cents at $1.3695 per pound. The intraday volatility ranged from 1.3340 to 1.3720 and was the second consecutive year. The trading day hit a contract high. Spot September copper rose 3.85 cents to close at $1.38. Other copper contracts for each month closed up 1.45 to 2.90 cents. The estimated volume was 11,000, down from 14,802 Tuesdays. • The number of open positions in the past week has increased significantly, increasing by 3,089 as of Tuesday to 85,631. Date: 2004-9-23