LONDON: Copper prices slipped on Thursday as demand concerns in top consumer China and Europe and a firmer dollar spurred selling of the industrial metal, but low stocks limited further losses.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal exchange was down 0.6% at $9,781 a tonne at 1109 GMT.
"China's New Year holiday and the Winter Olympics means subdued (manufacturing) activity and demand in China for base (metals)," a metals trader said. "Monetary policy tightening could put the skids under demand in Europe."
Dollar: A rising US currency makes dollar-priced metals more expensive for holders of other currencies, which could subdue demand.
Europe: The European Central Bank is expected to keep policy unchanged on Thursday but could acknowledge that inflation could stay high for longer than it had projected, a signal that some may take as a hint at a faster exit from stimulus.
Copper prices tick up in trade thinned by China holiday
Stocks: Copper inventories in LME-approved warehouses were at 82,400 tonnes, down 65% since August. Cancelled warrants - metal earmarked for delivery - at 31% of the total suggest more copper deliveries are due.
Concern about supplies of copper, used widely in the power and construction industries, on the LME market has seen the cash contract trade at a premium to the three-month contract for some months now.
Nickel Spreads: The cash nickel contract over the three-month contract has also traded at a premium for some months due to low stocks in LME warehouses, which at 88,182 tonnes have dropped 65% since April last year.
Cancelled warrants at 47% suggest more nickel will be delivered out.
About 74% of the total LME stock is bagged briquette, easily crushed into small particles and dissolved in sulphuric acid to make nickel sulphate used for electric-vehicle batteries.
Three-month nickel was little changed at $22,770 a tonne.
Other Metals: Aluminium gained 1.2% to $3,023, zinc was little changed at $3,608, lead fell 0.9% to $2,220 and tin added 0.5% to $43,250.
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