Copper prices rose on Thursday, helped by a weaker dollar and expectations of more stimulus measures in top consumer China, but gains were capped by rising inventories.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.4% to $8,052 per metric ton by 0619 GMT.

The most-traded November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) edged up 0.2% at 66,750 yuan ($9,144.59) a ton.

Copper steadies on China stimulus hopes

The dollar was rooted near a two-week low after minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting showed policymakers taking a cautious stance, making greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies.

Chinese policymakers are weighing a new round of stimulus with the issuance of at least 1 trillion yuan ($136.95 billion) of additional sovereign debt for spending on infrastructure, a Bloomberg report said.

Yangshan copper premium rose to $70 a ton, the highest since December 2022, signalling solid demand for metal imports in China, where copper and aluminium consumption has been surprisingly resilient.

“This week, we are seeing greater interest in stockpiling from China, as downstream companies did not restock enough ahead of a week-long holiday. Traditionally, lower prices should boost some domestic demand in the meantime,” said brokerage Sucden Financial in a note.

However, gains were capped by higher inventories of the metal, as stockpiles at LME-registered warehouses more than tripled in just three months to 179,675 tons, the highest since May 2022.

LME aluminium was almost flat at $2,214.50 a ton, nickel climbed 1.8% to $18,700, lead edged up 0.1% at $2,096.50, tin advanced 0.3% to $25,000, while zinc fell 0.2% to $2,472.

SHFE aluminium was almost flat at 19,090 yuan, lead rose 0.1% to 16,365 yuan, tin advanced 1.1% to 213,320 yuan, nickel climbed 1.1% to 152,120 yuan and zinc was nearly unchanged at 21,300 yuan.