Copper prices rose in London on Monday, but hovered near a one-week low, as market participants erred cautiously ahead of the release of key US inflation data this week.
Three-month copper contracts on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.3% to $8,887.50 a ton, rebounding from a one-week low of $8,817 earlier in the session and following three straight weekly losses.
Copper prices were hovering around $8,800-$9,000 for the week as markets weighed between a potential recovery in demand from big consumer China, and a stronger dollar due to higher US interest rates.
The dollar rose towards a five-week high once morest its major peers, due to rising bets on a prolonged US Federal Reserve tightening policy ahead of the important consumer price report, Tuesday.
A firmer dollar makes metals that are denominated in the greenback more expensive for holders of other currencies.
The most traded copper contract in March on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.5% to 68,150 yuan ($9,986.81) a ton.
A metals trader said, “There are not many metals that are transferred today,” noting that “the release of consumer price index data in the United States this week will move the markets.”
Aluminum rose on the London Metal Exchange by 0.2% to $2,445 a ton, rebounding from its one-month low in the previous session. Aluminum fell on the Shanghai Stock Exchange by 1.6% to 18,435 yuan per ton, its weakest level in a month, before closing at 18,550 yuan per ton, still down by 1%.
And “zinc” on the Shanghai Stock Exchange fell to 22,920 yuan per ton, its lowest level since November 4, as stocks in the warehouses of the Shanghai Stock Exchange rose, which amounted to 105,669 tons on Friday, the highest level since July last year.
And «zinc» on the London Stock Exchange decreased by 0.5% to 3026 dollars per ton. Inventories of the metal at LME warehouses rose and last reached 26,250t, a level not seen since January 3rd.
Tin on the Shanghai Stock Exchange decreased by 1.2% to 216,690 yuan per ton, lead decreased by 0.6% to 15,260 yuan per ton, and nickel decreased by 3.4% to 208,620 yuan per ton.
Tin decreased on the London Metal Exchange by 0.4% to $27,235 per ton, while lead rose by 0.4% to $2,086.50 per ton.
(Archyde.com)
