London copper fell on Monday as the dollar strengthened and US jobs data boosted expectations of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, while lingering demand concerns in top consumer China also added to the downbeat sentiment.
Sluggish trading, however, was expected as Chinese financial markets were closed for a public holiday, but traders kept a wary eye on the country’s COVID-19 lockdowns and its impact on economic output and overall demand.
Fundamentals
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Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.6% at $10,297 a tonne, as of 0233 GMT, after a 0.2% drop in the previous session.
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The US dollar made a firm start to the week as Treasury yields rose with expectations of rapid-fire US interest rate hikes, while talk of bans on Russian gas kept the euro within sight of its 2022 lows.
Copper pressured by soft China data and Shanghai lockdowns
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A strong dollar makes greenback-denominated metals more expensive to buyers using other currencies.
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The LME suspended deliveries of some Russian-produced metals into its approved warehouses in Britain on Friday, although there is none stored in them at present.
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Peru, the world’s no. 2 copper producer, will target “excess profits” that mining firms have gained from soaring global metals prices for extra taxation, the country’s economy minister told Reuters.
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Nickel volumes on the LME slid 28% month-on-month in March during a period of chaotic trading that included a shutdown.
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