SYDNEY: London copper was little changed in Asian trade on Wednesday after overnight gains on signs of rising U.S. inflation and further depreciation in the yuan.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.1 percent from the late London session to $5,624 a tonne by 0700 GMT.
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped 0.3 percent to 45,760 yuan ($6,641)a tonne.
The dollar hovered near a recent 13 1/2-year peak on Wednesday, taking a breather after surging on expectations that U.S. interest rates will rise further than earlier anticipated due to prospects of increased fiscal stimulus under a Trump administration., leading to higher inflation.
Against a basket of six major currencies, the dollar last stood at 101.05 That was up from Tuesday's low of 100.65 and not too far from Friday's high of 101.48, which was the highest for the dollar index since April 2003.
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. home resales rose in October to their highest level in more than 9-1/2 years, helping to support the greenback.
Copper is seen as a cheaper hedge against inflation than precious metals, while holding stronger upside potential.
However, traders at Argonaut Securities warned on Wednesday that while copper inventories on the London Metal Exchange continued to slide, down to an 11-week low, providing a positive fundamental outlook, SHFE inventories are up around 30 percent since early November.
"We think the increase in exchange inventory on the SHFE reflected an increase in imports as well as increase in refined copper production," Argonaut said in a note.
"While copper prices may continue to be buoyed by positive sentiments on demand outlook, there will be room for price consolidation on risks of stimulus policies delay/adjustments in United States or in China," it said.
Elsewhere, LME nickel slipped 0.2 percent to $11,350 and Shanghai nickel was down 0.3 percent.
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