BEIJING: Copper prices opened this week lower on Monday, with pressure from a steady dollar ahead of U.S. economic data, while subdued demand outlook from top consumer China also weighed on sentiment.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slid 0.2% to $8,528.50 per metric ton by 0217 GMT, having gained 2.4% last week, its biggest weekly rise since November.
The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange little moved at 68,000 yuan ($9,468.77) per ton.
The dollar started the week on a steady footing as investors took stock of U.S. economic data ahead of the Federal Reserve policy meeting this week, while escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East kept risk sentiment in check.
A firmer dollar makes it more expensive for non-dollar holders to purchase the greenback-priced commodity.
Elsewhere, LME zinc lost 0.3% to $2,570 a ton, aluminium declined 0.8% to $2,256, nickel fell 2% to $16,445, lead eased 0.4% to $2,156.50 and tin slipped 0.2% to $26,600.
Copper slips on doubts over China’s stimulus measures
China’s industrial firms recorded a second straight yearly decline in their profits in 2023, data showed on Saturday, while analyst expected the number to rise this year, as a slight improvement in demand and historic lows in inventories in some major economies.
China’s securities regulator said on Sunday that it will fully suspend the lending of restricted shares effective from Monday, in policymakers’ latest attempt to stabilise the country’s stock markets following recent sharp falls.
SHFE zinc shed 0.1% to 21,410 yuan a ton, nickel slid 1.4% to 129,300 yuan, lead nudged 0.1% lower at 16,285 yuan, and tin moved 0.5% to 221,620 yuan, while aluminium ticked 0.2% higher to 19,065 yuan.
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