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Base metals slip as strong dollar, need concerns weigh

Many base metals were nursing losses on Wednesday, weighed down by a strong U.S. dollar and need issues amidst financial headwinds in leading metals consumer China.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was 0.1% lower at $9,454.50 per metric heap by 0124 GMT, extending declines from Tuesday.

The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.7% to 76,540 yuan ($ 10,576.21) per load.

The dollar index hovered around a five-month high, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated on Tuesday that the U.S. central bank might require to keep rates greater for longer as inflation remains sticky.

A more powerful dollar makes it more pricey to purchase the greenback-priced commodity.

Although China's very first quarter financial growth beat expectation, its March industrial output and retail sales grew fell below what analysts' had expected.

Weak need in China and war escalation would weigh on global financial development, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday, considering a sluggish however consistent growth for 2024 and 2025.

LME aluminium moved 0.4% to $2,552.50 a load, zinc dropped 0.7% to $2,753, lead fell 0.4% to $ 2,139, nickel pushed 0.1% lower at $17,705 and tin lost 1.1% to $31,480.

SHFE aluminium decreased 0.9% to 20,235 yuan a lot, nickel dropped 1.6% to 134,040 yuan, zinc shed 0.2% to 22,425 yuan, and tin was down 2.2% to 250,960 yuan, while lead added 0.1% to 16,845 yuan.

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(source: Reuters)