(Updates prices, recasts)
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Copper prices fell on Friday in tepid
demand in top consumer China and on prospects of higher U.S.
interest rates, though supply disruptions globally helped
cushion the fall.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange shed
0.4% to $8,863.50 a tonne by 0817 GMT, and the most-traded April
copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed
down 0.9% at 69,610 yuan ($10,027.66) a tonne.
"Demand side has been a bit less supportive with early signs
suggesting demand in China hasn't rebounded as strongly as some
hoped post the Lunar New year holiday," said CRU analyst Craig
Lang.
Yangshan copper premium , which represents
demand for imported copper into China, was at $22.50 a tonne on
Thursday, down 85% from October last year.
"On the macro side, it's been less supportive as the market
is pricing a need for the Federal Reserve to maintain higher
interest rates for longer, reducing the probability of a Fed
pivot to lower rates later this year," he said.
A higher U.S. interest rate could lead to a firmer dollar,
which makes dollar-priced metals more expensive to holders of
other currencies.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd said on Thursday it had
suspended ore processing at its Cobre Panama mine. It has been
locked in a prolonged contract dispute with the Panama
government over tax and royalties.
"It's one of the world's largest copper mines and adds to
other supply disruptions in early 2023," Lang said.
Copper supplies in Indonesia, Peru and Chile are facing
disruptions, although analysts and traders believe they are not
yet severe enough to shift the copper concentrate market balance
into a deficit this year.
LME zinc dipped 0.6% to $3,015.50 a tonne, tin rose 0.2% to $26,230 a tonne, nickel was down
0.1% at $25,630 a tonne, and aluminium shed 1% to $2,374
a tonne.
SHFE aluminium fell 0.6% to 18,635 yuan a tonne,
nickel dropped 1.5% to 203,370 yuan a tonne, tin shed 2.5% to 212,430 yuan a tonne and lead decreased 0.4% to 15,350 yuan a tonne.
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(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi
Editing by Vinay Dwivedi, Robert Birsel)
mai.nguyen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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