(Updates with price milestone)
NEW DELHI, April 11 (Reuters) - Copper prices touched a
one-week high on Tuesday as a softer U.S. dollar lent support,
although further gains were likely to be capped ahead of key
U.S. inflation data.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.59% at $8,852 a tonne by 0925 GMT, after
hitting $8,881.50 earlier, its highest since April 4.
Prices had declined 1.5% last week after weak U.S. economic
data fueled fears of a recession.
The U.S. dollar gave back the previous day's advances
against the euro and pound but held some gains against the yen
on Tuesday as traders' attention turned to U.S. inflation data
due on Wednesday for signs of how close U.S. rates are to
peaking.
"If U.S. inflation data this week is stronger than expected,
further downside risk to prices persists," analysts at National
Australia Bank Limited said in a research note.
A weaker dollar is supportive as it makes dollar-priced
metals cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.
Among other metals, LME aluminium eased 0.24% at
$2,328 a tonne, tin fell 1.43% to $23,960, zinc fell 0.18% at $2,774, nickel was up 2.63% at $23,400,
while lead was up 0.14% at $2,098.50.
Meanwhile, China's consumer inflation in March hit the
slowest pace since September 2021, driven by falling food
prices, official data showed on Tuesday, suggesting demand
weakness persists amid an uneven economic recovery.
Producer deflation extended into a sixth month.
The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange was up 0.16% at 68,880 yuan a tonne.
SHFE aluminium was down 1.04% at 18,485 yuan, zinc fell 0.58% to 22,125 yuan, lead edged 0.1%
lower to 15,285 yuan, tin fell 1.45% to 190,730 yuan,
and nickel gained 0.63% to 180,000 yuan a tonne.
Separately, production in Peru, the world's No. 2 copper
producer, is expected to be 2.8 million tonnes this year, a
senior official said on Monday, representing an almost 15% jump
from 2022, in a bright spot for the Andean nation's top export.
For the top stories in metals and other news, click or (Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Savio D'Souza, Sohini
Goswami and Shilpi Majumdar)
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