London copper inched lower on Friday and was headed for a fifth consecutive weekly loss, as concerns over a higher interest rate environment slowing global economic growth dampened investor appetite for risky assets and boosted the dollar.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.2% at $9,473.00 a tonne, as of 0311 GMT. The contract is down 3% so far this week.
The most-active June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.3% to 72,100 yuan ($10,810.57). “A stronger dollar weighed on investor appetite,” commodity strategists at ANZ said in a note. “Attention remains on China, where officials are struggling to contain a wave of COVID-19 by increasing restrictions in Shanghai and Beijing.
This comes amid tighter monetary policy from central banks around the world.“ The dollar firmed near a 20-year high and was headed for a fifth winning week, making greenback-denominated metals more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Asian shares tumbled in a reversal of a day earlier as investors expressed concerns that rising interest rates could lead to a global economic slowdown.
Copper climbs as Fed pours water on bigger rate hikes
Copper, used in the power and construction industries, is seen as a gauge for the health of global economy.
FED: The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by half a percentage point, the biggest jump in 22 years, to fight against soaring inflation.
COVID: China will fight any comments and actions that distort, doubt or deny the country’s COVID-19 response policy, state television reported on Thursday, after a meeting of the country’s highest decision-making body.
COPPER: Peru pledged to review conditions around a major cooper mine but said it would not lift by Friday an emergency declaration temporarily suspending civil liberties in the area.
PRICES: LME aluminium gained 0.4% to $2,927.50 a tonne, zinc shed 1.2% to $3,857, lead was down 0.1% at $2,275.50 and tin fell 0.4% to $40,320.
Shanghai aluminium dropped 2%, zinc was down 1.9% and nickel fell 3.4%, while lead added 0.1% and tin eased 0.4%.