(Updates prices)
Feb 7 (Reuters) - London copper prices rebounded on
Tuesday from a four-week low hit in the previous session, as the
dollar weakened, making greenback-priced metals cheaper to
holders of other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose
0.5% to $8,912 a tonne by 0809 GMT, after four straight sessions
of losses.
The dollar eased after a rally in the previous session, but
hovered near a one-month peak as traders raised their forecasts
for U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate levels needed to tame
inflation.
Meanwhile, First Quantum Minerals Ltd suspended
loading operations at a major port in Panama, blocking its path
to export from the Cobre Panama copper mine.
"A prolonged disruption to shipping activity could impact
mining operations due to limited storage capacity," ING analysts
said in a report.
The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange fell 0.3% to 68,360 yuan a tonne,
tracking overnight losses in London.
Copper prices have been falling in recent weeks as traders
and investors reassessed their expectations for the speed and
scale of any demand recovery in China after the country removed
its strict COVID-19 restrictions.
On the supply side, global copper smelting activity in
January rose to the highest in a year as plants in top refined
metal producer China boosted output, data from satellite
surveillance of metal processing plants showed on Monday.
LME aluminium dipped 0.1% to $2,531.50 a tonne, zinc fell 0.4% to $3,119 a tonne, nickel shed 1.1% to
$26,960 a tonne, while tin rose 0.8% to $27,100 a tonne.
SHFE nickel fell 2.4% to 209,850 yuan a tonne, zinc dropped 0.8% to 23,365 yuan a tonne, lead declined 0.3% to 15,235 yuan a tonne, tin shed 1.9% to
216,900 yuan a tonne, while aluminium rose 0.7% to
19,095 yuan a tonne.
The United States is considering raising the tariff on
Russian-made aluminium to 200%, a U.S. official said on Monday.
"If the United States goes ahead and imposes the tariff on
Russian aluminium, it will likely have a limited impact on the
global market," said ING analysts, adding that U.S. aluminium
imports from Russia were less than 10% of total imports.
For the top stories in metals and other news, click or (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; editing by Uttaresh.V, Savio
D'Souza and Subhranshu Sahu)
mai.nguyen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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