Copper prices rose on Tuesday, as the dollar weakened on bets of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve, making greenback-priced metals cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.2% at $8,461 per metric ton by 0358 GMT, while the most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also climbed 0.2% to 68,370 yuan ($9,549.82) a ton.
The dollar paused its rally, as traders reaffirmed their bets for a slew of Federal Reserve rate cuts this year on expectations that inflation in the US is easing sufficiently.
“Investors are awaiting the (US) inflation print on Thursday, which we expect will bring more volatility to the base metals complex,” brokerage firm Sucden Financial said in a report.
LME aluminium advanced 0.3% to $2,244 a ton, nickel increased 0.4% to $16,365, zinc was up 0.6% at $2,525, lead was 0.4% higher, while tin fell 0.4% to $24,400.
SHFE nickel climbed nearly 1% to 125,640 yuan a ton, zinc advanced 0.1% to 21,280 yuan, lead was up 0.5% at 16,195 yuan while aluminium fell 0.4% to 19,035 yuan and tin dropped 0.8% to 204,280 yuan.
Copper prices rebound as dollar falls
SHFE alumina February contract dropped as much as 6.54% to 3,187 yuan a ton to trade near a two-week low.
The contract jumped 13% last month on raw material bauxite supply worry in major producer Guinea. LME aluminium inventories climbed to 569,100 tons, the highest since June 2023.
Nickel stockpiles in LME warehouses scaled to 64,896 tons, the highest since July 2022.
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