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LME stocks data supports copper, however dollar dominates

Copper prices came under pressure from a more powerful dollar on Friday, but losses were limited due to London Metal Exchange (LME) data revealing increasing amounts of metal waiting to leave its registered warehouses.

Customers, manufacturers and traders use the LME as a market of last hope. They deliver surpluses to LME warehouses and take metal out of the system when they are brief.

Standard copper on the LME was little changed at $ 9,090 a metric ton by 1224 GMT.

LME data shows copper stocks in its storage facilities increasing 4,400 loads to 272,825 tons. But cancelled warrants-- metal allocated for delivery-- jumped 8,950 tons taking the total to 16,650 lots.

The majority of that cancelled metal << 0 #MCUSTX- LOC> > is in LME storage facilities in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Traders state it is headed for leading customer China, where imports of copper and items in November struck a 1 year high.

Meanwhile copper stocks in warehouses kept an eye on by the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) have been sliding, suggesting rising need. At 84,557 lots, << CU-STX-SGH > they have almost cut in half because the middle of October.

The market is looking at the cancelled warrants and copper stocks in Shanghai, a copper trader stated, including that the dollar would continue to weigh on prices of industrial metals.

A greater U.S. currency makes dollar-priced commodities more pricey for holders of other currencies, which would suppress need and prices. The dollar has actually been enhanced by the possibility of the U.S. Federal Reserve cutting rates more gradually next year.

We see a considerable oversupply in 2025 at 491,000 lots, said BNP Paribas analyst David Wilson, including that would be the biggest surplus because 2020 and make copper a lot more susceptible to dollar strength than other industrial metals.

Likewise weighing on sentiment was a meeting of Chinese authorities on economic policy which repeated promises to provide debt, lower interest rates and assistance development but used absolutely nothing new to delight financiers.

In other metals, aluminium was up 0.3% at $2,607 a. ton, zinc gained 1.3% to $3,114, lead slipped. 0.1% to $2,003, tin pulled away 0.2% to $29,460 and nickel. was flat at $16,165.

(source: Reuters)