BEIJING: London copper prices declined on Wednesday, hurt by a firm dollar and looming concerns about the US and Chinese economies, while the Shanghai contract rose.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange shed 0.5% to $8,886 per metric ton by 0522 GMT, reversing gains in the previous session and falling to a more than four-and-half month low.
However, the most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 0.3% to 71,380 yuan ($9,937.21) a ton.
Higher global prices encouraged more exports from China, while the narrowing disparity between the two markets will attract more cargoes into China this month, analysts said.
China’s imports of unwrought copper and products were 438,000 metric tons last month, down 2.9% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Wednesday.
The data also showed the country’s exports grow at their slowest pace in three months in July, missing expectations and adding to concerns about the outlook for the nation’s vast manufacturing sector. However, its imports swung back to growth.
The dollar index recovered ground and was last at 103.31, making greenback-priced metals like copper more expensive.
The dollar will claw back some of its recent losses over the coming three months on expectations financial markets have again gone too far in pricing in too many Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year, a Reuters poll of foreign exchange strategists found.
London copper climbs on China data, Fed rate-cut prospects
Copper experienced large sell-offs as investors left the market after data last week sparked fears of a US recession.
LME aluminium slipped 0.3% to $2,290 a ton, zinc moved 0.7% lower to $2,583, nickel decreased 0.7% to $16,275, while tin rose 0.2% to $29,700.
SHFE aluminium was 0.5% higher at 18,930 yuan a ton, tin added 1.1% to 244,800 yuan, while nickel slipped 0.2% to 128,710 yuan, and zinc declined 1.2% to 21,885 yuan.
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