BEIJING: Prices of London copper retreated on Monday from a three-week rally, as a firmer US dollar dented the greenback-priced metal’s appeal while rising production in China and LME inventories also weighed.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.2% at $8,549 per metric ton by 0212 GMT, while the most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange added 0.2% to 68,540 yuan ($9,591.25) per ton.

Gains in the previous weeks were largely supported by investor bets on China to roll out further stimulus to revive its COVID-ravaged economy.

China, the world’s top refined metal maker, posted a year-on-year increase of 12.9% in refined copper production in May to 1.1 million tons, a record monthly high, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

Data released on Friday also showed an increase of LME stockpiles, although that on SHFE continued to decline.

The dollar index strengthened on Monday, making the commodity less attractive for non-dollar holders.

Copper pulls back from five-week high as inventories rise

Among other metals, LME aluminium shed 0.5% at $2,259 a ton, tin slid 0.8% to $26,740, zinc slipped 0.3% to $2,471, lead trimmed 0.7% to $2,126, and nickel fell 2.1% to $22,555.

SHFE aluminium fell 0.7% to 18,430 yuan a metric ton, lead added 0.5% to 15,500 yuan, nickel dropped 2.1% to 169,170 yuan, while tin lost 2% at 215,110 yuan, while zinc was down 0.2% at 20,445 yuan.

SHFE started trading of its alumina futures on Monday, with the most-traded contract up as much as 3.8% on its debut.