Local metals find support in easing

Commodity futures prices soared across the metal and petrochemical spheres Friday in the wake of the US Federal Reserve's decision to launch a new round of monetary stimulus.

The most traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) leapt 3.91 percent to close at 60,370 yuan ($9,557.21) per ton. The January contract opened 2.5 percent above Thursday's closing price and climbed higher over the session.

The three-month contract on the London Metal Exchange (LME) jumped 2.5 percent to close at $8,393.20 per ton. The contract was up more than 4 percent since the Chinese mainland markets closed Thursday, before the Fed's main policy making board made its announcement.

The Federal Open Market Committee announced early Friday that the central bank would begin purchasing mortgage-backed securities as part of its normal operations, Reuters reported. The Fed said it would buy $40 billion of the securities each month, injecting money into the financial sector in an effort to bolster the economy.

Precious metals prices surged along with base and ferrous metals. The SHFE December gold contract rose 2.54 percent Friday to close at 365.19 yuan per gram.

Petrochemicals also performed well. The most traded methanol and pure terephthalic acid contracts on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange added more than 3 percent, while the January linear low density polyethylene contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange soared 4.2 percent.