Copper joined oil and equities in a wider upswing on
financial markets after investors regarded comments on Tuesday
by Fed Chair Jerome Powell as dovish, focusing on his views that
inflation was due to decline. The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange ended the day trading 0.9% higher at
68,640 yuan ($10,115.24) a tonne.
"The markets are moving on every indication of softening or
tightening from the central banks," said Nitesh Shah, commodity
strategist at WisdomTree.
"After the Fed rate hike last week, there was a lot of
hawkish commentary, but yesterday it was slightly more dovish
and that's giving the markets more confidence."
The dollar index fell on the back of Powell's
comments, making commodities priced in the U.S. currency less
expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Aluminium was the only LME metal in the red after data showed
LME inventories soared 27% to 495,750 tonnes, the highest in
about two months, after arrivals in Gwangyang in South Korea.
LME three-month aluminium eased 0.7% in official
activity to $2,507 a tonne.
Last month, sources told Reuters that Glencore had
delivered 40,000 tonnes of Russian aluminium to Gwangyang.
Supply-side issues in copper, including First Quantum
Minerals' <Ltd FM.TO> suspension of loading operations at a
major port in Panama, also supported sentiment.
"This might support spot prices, but its actual impact on supply tightness remains to be seen as several smelters will start maintenance in March," a source at a Chinese copper smelter said.
LME zinc climbed 0.7% to $3,157.50 a tonne, lead rose 1.1% to $2,120, nickel gained 0.9% to $27,500 and tin advanced 3.8% to $28,100. For the top stories in metals and other news, click ($1 = 6.7858 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Eric Onstad Additional reporting by Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton in Beijing; editing by Sharon Singleton and Jason Neely)
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