(Updates prices)
March 31 (Reuters) - Copper prices were on track for a
second quarterly gain on Friday, supported by improving demand
from top consumer China after the country lifted its stringent
COVID-19 restrictions.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange
(LME) was down 1.1% at $8,898.50 a tonne by 0724 GMT but has
gained 6.2% over the first quarter.
The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange closed 0.7% down at 69,200 yuan ($10,078.35) a
tonne but is up 5.1% over the quarter.
China's removal of its COVID-19 restrictions last December
raised hopes that demand for copper will improve with a
post-pandemic economic revival.
Copper prices shot up in early January, but the rally
stalled until consumption recovered in March to boost LME copper
prices by about $1,000 in only two weeks to about $9,000 a
tonne.
A weaker dollar in the second half of March was also
supportive, making dollar-priced metals cheaper for buyers with
other currencies.
Nickel trading, meanwhile, has been dampened by fraud and an
LME trading limit and review.
It was the biggest faller among base metals in the first
three months of 2023, with the LME three-month contract down 23.5% so far this year. The most-traded SHFE contract shed 20% in the same period.
So far this quarter LME aluminium has eased by 0.1%,
zinc has lost 2.1% and lead has shed 7.5% while
tin has jumped by 4.8%.
SHFE aluminium is up 0.1% this quarter, zinc is down 3.9%, lead has lost 4.4% and tin is down 0.7%.
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(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi
Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and David Goodman)
mai.nguyen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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