LONDON: Copper prices extended losses in London on Wednesday as stronger US dollar as well as weak manufacturing data and a struggling property sector in top consumer China soured sentiment.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) dropped 1.5% to $8,505 per metric ton by 1602 GMT.
Copper, used in power and construction, is down 1.7% so far this week as the market waits for clarity on concrete measures by China to boost its economic recovery after the January removal of COVID curbs.
“China’s post-reopening recovery has not met market expectations and the new data this week offered new evidence that the stimulus measures already introduced in the last couple of months are failing to have a meaningful impact,” said ING analyst Ewa Manthey.
“It looks like China is likely to finally release new stimulus measures but we will have to see what that stimulus looks like and if it will be enough in the long term to boost demand for metals.” Also weighing on the market was a stronger US currency, which makes dollar-priced commodities less attractive for buyers holding other currencies.
Total copper inventories in LME-registered warehouses rose to a fresh two-month peak of 75,275 metric tons after the arrival of 1,200 tons, daily LME data showed.
LME aluminium dipped 1.9% to $2,212.5 per metric ton, zinc fell 3.3% to $2,483.5, lead was flat at $2,146.5.
Tin lost 1.4% to $27,345, shrugging off any immediate effect from an Aug. 1 mining ban in areas controlled by Myanmar’s ethnic minority Wa militia thanks to stocks in China.
Nickel, hit this year by rising Indonesian supply, shed 3.5% to $21,585. Nornickel, a major producer in sanctions-hit Russia, said on Wednesday that Asia had become its largest market in terms of revenue as it pivots from the West.
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