LONDON: Copper rose on Monday as a weaker dollar and upbeat US employment data helped lure investors back after the commodities sell-off last week.
At 0937 GMT, copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange traded at $8,934.50 a tonne from $8,825 a tonne on Friday.
The metal used in power and construction had hit $8,657.50 on Friday, its lowest since early December.
"We're seeing a bit of stabilisation after the horrors and shock of last week," Credit Agricole analyst Robin Bhar said.
"We've had a bit of a pullback in the dollar. The general trend has been for the dollar to strengthen against the euro, but there's been a bit of a bid coming back for the euro this morning, so that's helping."
The euro bounced back on Monday as some sovereign investors viewed its sell-off late last week on concerns about Greek debt as overdone given still favourable interest rate differentials.
A weaker dollar makes commodities such as metals cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Commodity markets fell sharply last week, with the Reuters-Jefferies CRB index down 9 percent in its biggest weekly decline since December 2008, despite unexpectedly strong US non-farm payroll numbers on Friday.
Since then, many major commodities have rebounded. Brent crude rose on Monday after losing $16 last week in the biggest ever decline in dollar terms.
CHINESE DATA
Peru, one of the world's leading mineral exporters, said on Sunday its copper output rose In March from the same month a year ago.
A slew of Chinese and US economic data could keep volatility high again this week, including inflation numbers that will give some indication of how far a cycle of monetary tightening has to run in China, the top driver of commodities demand growth.
"The focus of market players should be directed at economic data from China this week," Commerzbank said in a note.
"Should these data come in better than expected, metal prices especially should gain fresh impetus."
Copper, tin and lead inventories in LME warehouses rose, latest data showed.
Nickel stocks fell to their lowest since mid-August, while tin stocks rose to their highest in more than a year, rising 305 tonnes to 21,720 tonnes.
Indonesia's refined tin exports rose 22 percent in April from the same month last year, due to improving weather conditions, an official at the trade ministry said.
Indonesia is the world's top tin exporter. A crackdown on illegal mining, tighter export rules, declining onshore reserves and rain that has hindered production in the country have helped drive tin's rally. The metal, which is used in soldering in the electronics industry, hit a record high of $33,600 in April.
Tin traded at $29,950 a tonne from $29,650 at the close on Friday. Aluminium traded at $2,618.75 a tonne against $2,608. Zinc, used in galvanizing, was at $2,177 a tonne from $2,140.
Battery material lead was at $2,339 a tonne from $2,280. Nickel was at $24,775 from $24,650 a tonne.
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