crept higher but was near a two-month low as traders weighed how pivotal U.S. jobs data coming out on a stock trading holiday would impact Federal Reserve policy, after a raft of data this week pointed to a cooling economy. A stronger dollar often makes it less attractive for non-dollar holders to buy the greenback-priced commodity. Improved demand from top consumer China also lent some support to the metal used in power, construction and air conditioning sectors.
The Yangshan premium, which reflects demand for imported copper into China, ticked up to $32.50 a tonne on Tuesday, a first time increase since March.17. However, a recent increase in China's copper imports also weighed down prices, Zhang said. A joint copper mining project by Ecuador's state-run ENAMI and Chile's Codelco has been told to suspend operations, after a court ruled the government failed to give local communities a right to environmental consultation, the communities' lawyers and Codelco said.
Most other metals in London rebounded. LME zinc recovered 0.1% to $2,805 from a five-month low, aluminium advanced 0.6% at $2,347, tin added 0.8% to $24,440, lead was up 0.4% to $2,119, while nickel shed 1.4% to $22,400. The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended day trading 0.9% lower to 68,520 yuan ($9,967.13) a tonne. SHFE aluminium eased 0.7% to 18,580 yuan, zinc fell 1.8% to 22,135 yuan, tin tumbled 5% to 194,860 yuan, and nickel shed 2.8% to 173,350 yuan, while lead added 0.1% to 15,230 yuan. SHFE will lower margin requirements and trading limits for base metals after the closing of trading on Thursday. For the top stories in metals and other news, click or ($1 = 6.8746 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton; Editing by Varun H K and Sohini Goswami)
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