Industrial metals fell on Wednesday on concerns about the global economy’s health and a firm U.S. dollar, with copper down for a second straight session after hitting a more than two-week high.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.6% at $9,400 a tonne, as of 0733 GMT.
The most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped 0.3% to 71,530 yuan ($10,724.14)a tonne.
“Negativity returned to risk markets as economic data reinforced growth concerns,” ANZ analysts said in a note.
Latest key indicators reinforce concerns about how supply chain bottlenecks, high inflation, and rising interest will impact global growth, they said. New U.S. home sales fell 16.6% month-on-month in April, the largest decline in nine years.
Copper falls as investors fear global economic slowdown
In top metals consumer China, COVID-19 lockdowns kept markets on edge, largely unexcited about Beijing’s attempts to shore up the domestic economy through additional stimulus measures.
Peru: The leader of a Peruvian indigenous community, whose protest led MMG’s Las Bambas copper mine to suspend operations over a month ago, said on Tuesday that “progress” has been made toward a solution to the crisis.
Peru is the world’s No. 2 copper producer.
Dollar: The dollar bounced off a one-month low on Wednesday amid a stabilisation in Treasury yields. A firmer dollar also makes metals priced in the U.S. currency less attractive to global buyers.
Fed Minutes: The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to release the minutes from its May 3–4 policy meeting at 1800 GMT.
Prices: LME aluminium was down 1.9% at $2,846 a tonne, zinc fell 1.3% to $3,741, lead shed 1% to $2,147, and tin edged down 0.3% to $34,000.
Shanghai aluminium dropped 0.6%, nickel slipped 0.5%, lead lost 0.3%, tin tumbled 3.1%, but zinc edged up 0.5%.
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