BEIJING: Prices of copper traded within a tight range on Monday, as investors weighed demand uncertainty and higher supplies against support from a weaker US dollar.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange little moved at $8,171 per metric ton by 0144 GMT, after recording a weekly gain on Friday.
The most-traded December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost 0.4% to 67,380 yuan ($9,245.08) per ton.
The metal used in power, transportation and construction sectors, is facing slower seasonal consumption in the winter, while a patchy economic recovery in China also added uncertainty in its demand outlook.
Meanwhile, stocks on LME warehouses have largely climbed, despite a recent decline. Copper stocks on SHFE warehouses rise 11.3% last Friday, but still around an one-year low level.
Copper down on higher stocks, concerns about demand in China
The dollar index hovered around its six-week low on Monday, as US job data released last Friday reinforced investors’ expectation the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady again at its December meeting.
LME aluminium eased 0.2% at $2,250.50 a ton, tin dipped 0.3% to $24,285, zinc shed 0.4% to $2,514, lead nudged down 0.2% to $2,166.50, and nickel fell 0.9% to $18,060.
SHFE aluminium nudged 0.2% lower to 19,150 yuan a ton, zinc slid 0.2% to 21,380 yuan, lead added 0.4% to 16,615 yuan, nickel was up 0.4% to 142,680 yuan, and tin ticked 0.5% up to 207,160 yuan.
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