Copper, aluminium and other base metals climbed on Friday as investors bought back short positions after a strong US jobs report that helped to allay fears the world's largest economy has hit a soft patch. A surprise move by Opec oil producers to maintain production also supported metals because a lower crude price could help the global economy and boost demand for metals.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange closed 1.2 percent higher at $4,612 a tonne. Copper prices have been lagging near the lowest since 2009 around $4,443.50 hit on November 23. Lead hit its highest in a month while aluminium and nickel surged to week highs. "It's a mixed bag," said Robin Bhar, head of metals research at Societe Generale, referring to the US data and Opec decision.
"I think it's more to do with end-of-week positioning, reflecting how extreme things got with the short in metals and long in dollars. We just seeing a bit of tidy up." Data showed US job growth increased solidly in November, which most likely will pave the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month for the first time in nearly a decade. The stronger than expected jobs data failed to boost the dollar much, perhaps because many investors had already bought the US currency in anticipation, Bhar said.
A firmer dollar usually weighs on metals priced in the US currency, making them more expensive for buyers outside of the United States. Aluminium jumped 2.8 percent to finish at $1,514.50 a tonne after touching $1,523.50, the strongest in a week. Oil prices fell after news that Opec was planning to maintain its production near record highs. "A lower oil price is a two-edged sword, it means lower costs for miners which could depress metals prices, but it could also spur GDP growth as well," Bhar said.
In any case, the current uptick in metals was likely only a temporary correction before a downtrend resumes, largely due to worries about demand in China and oversupply, he added. An avalanche of data from China in the coming weeks is likely to show that the world's second-largest economy remains sluggish, reinforcing expectations Beijing will release more stimulus measures in the months ahead. Zinc ended 2 percent firmer at $1,552 while nickel failed to trade in closing open outcry activity and was bid 1.5 percent higher at $8,980 a tonne after touching a one-week peak. Lead marched 2.1 percent higher to finish at $1,685 after surging to the highest in a month and tin added 0.7 percent to $14,900.
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