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Copper dips on weak Chinese information, firm dollar

Copper rates edged lower on Thursday on weak customer inflation data in leading metals customer China and a firm dollar.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.3% to $9,350 per metric lot by 1600 GMT, moving even more far from a 14-month peak of $9,523 discussed Tuesday.

U.S. Comex copper futures dropped 0.8% to $4.25 a. lb.

Information on Thursday showed China's consumer inflation cooled. more than expected in March, while producer price deflation. persisted as demand remained weak.

The question is will China continue to provide piecemeal. stimulus? A great deal of their stimulus is green-focused and base. metal intensive, stated Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at. WisdomTree.

Copper and global stock exchanges declined on Wednesday after. U.S. inflation data rose more than anticipated in March, pushing. out the anticipated timing of a first rate cut to September from. June.

That sent out the dollar index to a near five-month high,. while the currency extended gains on Thursday, making it more. expensive to buy greenback-priced products for customers. utilizing other currencies.

The macro photo is bypassing the principles at the. minute, but I believe the pull back we're seeing right now will be. momentary. We may see weeks, possibly a month of consolidation,. Shah said.

The reason rates aren't being cut so soon is because. there's strength in the U.S. economy, which should be favorable. for need for cyclical things such as base metals.

The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures. Exchange shed 0.4% at 76,270 yuan ($ 10,539.48) per load.

SHFE will begin constraints on the maximum intraday. position opening volumes for the copper contract from April 12.

In other metals, LME aluminium was flat at $2,456 a. ton, zinc advanced 1.2% to $2,768.50, lead eased. 1.4% to $2,144, nickel slid 3.6% to $17,700 and tin. shed 0.6% to $31,810.

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(source: Reuters)