Investing.com - Copper prices rose on Thursday, after mining giant Glencore (L:GLEN) announced wider spending cuts as the commodities group races to cut debt and shore up its balance sheet.
The Swiss-based company cut its capital expenditure for 2016 to $3.8 billion, from an earlier estimate of $5 billion.
Glencore said last month it will cut 55,000 metric tons of copper output by the end of 2017, the latest in a string of supply cuts. In September, the firm said it would reduce copper production from mines in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo by 400,000 tons.
The world’s biggest mining companies are reeling from the deepening rout in commodities prices this year.
Copper for March delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 0.8 cents, or 0.39%, to trade at $2.072 a pound during morning hours in London. Meanwhile, three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange advanced 0.11% to $4596.75 a metric ton.
Traders looked ahead to data on Chinese industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment for November due on Saturday for further hints on the strength of the economy.
Sluggish trade and inflation figures released this week added to concerns over the health of the world's second-biggest economy. The rate of economic growth in China slowed to 6.9% in the third quarter, according to official data, dropping below the 7% level for the first time since the global financial crisis.
Copper is track to post an annual decline of 29% in 2015 as fears of a China-led global economic slowdown spooked traders and rattled sentiment. The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for nearly 45% of world consumption.
Elsewhere in metals trading, gold futures edged lower on Thursday, but still stuck in familiar trading range, as market players braced for the first U.S. rate hike since 2006 next week.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.35% to 97.67. Dollar-priced commodities become more expensive to investors holding other currencies when the greenback gains.
While investors widely expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its December 15-16 meeting, they anticipate the pace of increases to be gradual amid concerns over tepid growth overseas and divergent monetary policies between the U.S. and other nations.
Gold futures are down nearly 10% in 2015, the third annual loss in a row, as speculation over the timing of a Fed rate hike dominated market sentiment for most of the year. Expectations of higher borrowing rates going forward is considered bearish for gold, as the precious metal struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates are on the rise.
Investors looked ahead to key U.S. data later in the day for further indications on the strength of the economy. The U.S. is to release a weekly report on initial jobless claims at 8:30AM ET Thursday, as well as data on import prices.