LONDON: Copper prices fell in London on Friday after data showed higher inventories in exchange-registered warehouses, though a weaker dollar, focused on upcoming crucial U.S. data, limited the decline.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.2% at $8,129 per metric ton by 1059 GMT.
The metal, used in power and construction, is down 2.8% so far this year due to patchy post-pandemic recovery of demand in China, the world’s largest metals consumer.
“Disappointing manufacturing PMI data from China (released earlier this week) have set lower expectations for the base metals complex,” said Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree.
Copper stocks in the LME-registered warehouses rose after their recent decline, the daily data showed, while copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 11.3% this week.
Copper flat despite weak China industrial data; investors wary
Copper is still up 0.4% so far this week, heading for its second weekly growth, as the U.S. currency weakened after hints that the U.S. Federal Reserve could be done with hiking rates, he added.
A weaker dollar makes metals priced in it more attractive for holders of other currencies. The focus is on U.S. non-farm payrolls data due at 1230 GMT.
On the supply side, lawmakers in Panama scratched provisions from a proposed bill that would cancel a recently approved mining concession extending the life of a lucrative copper mine. The bill now focuses on enshrining into law an indefinite nationwide ban on all new mining concessions.
LME aluminium rose 0.2% to $2,231 a ton, zinc increased 0.2% to $2,483, tin climbed 0.2% to $24,015 and nickel was flat at $17,975 a ton.
Lead was up 1.5% at $2,154.5, after touching its highest since Oct. 9 of $2,155. The metal is heading for the third consecutive weekly growth.
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