LONDON: Copper prices slipped on Monday as worries about demand resurfaced after weak data from China, though a softer dollar provided some support.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.4% at $8,394 a metric ton by 1110 GMT, having hit a two-month high of $8,486 last week.
Profits at China’s industrial companies rose 2.7% year on year in October, slowing from the 11.9% increase in September and 17.2% in August.
Traders said the numbers had triggered some profit-taking on long positions betting on higher copper prices. Copper prices have gained 7% since Oct. 23.
“Funds have been selling, but the dollar’s downtrend this month is a positive “ one metal trader said.
A falling U.S. currency makes dollar-priced metals cheaper for holders of other currencies, which could boost demand.
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Surveys of purchasing managers in China’s manufacturing sector, a key driver of metals demand, are due later this week.
“China is still growing, copper demand is still healthy. Disruptions at the Cobre Panama mine could have a major impact on supplies,” SP Angel analyst John Meyer said of factors supporting prices.
Cobre Panama, owned by First Quantum, produces about 1% of global copper supplies, but it is not operating at commercial levels because of blockades at a key port preventing the miner from receiving shipments of coal to power the site.
On the technical front, strong resistance for copper stands at $8,455, the 200-day moving average. Major support comes in at $8,290, the 100-day moving average.
Elsewhere, nickel fell to a three-year low at $15,480 a ton, pressured by a looming increase to a global market surplus and a build-up of short positions betting on lower prices. It was last down 1.3% at $15,925 a ton.
In other metals, aluminium gained 0.1% to $2,219 a ton, zinc rose 0.4% to $2,564, lead was down 0.7% at $2,178 and tin retreated 0.6% to $23,750.
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