off-the-wire

METALS-Base metals up on weaker dollar, demand woes cap gains

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
BEIJING, April 13 (Reuters) - Prices of most base metals rose on Thursday as a shaky U.S. dollar made it more attractive to buy the greenback-priced commodity, although the gains were capped by global demand outlook stemming from fears of a recession. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.3% to $8,938.50 a tonne by 0113 GMT. The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.5% to 69,300 yuan ($10,082.93) a tonne, a near two-week high. The dollar dipped on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session after data showed U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in March, raising expectations that the Federal Reserve is likely to stop hiking rates after a possible increase in May. Other metals in Shanghai ticked up, with hopes of more stimulus from top consumer China offering support.


SHFE aluminium advanced 0.5% to 18,530 yuan, zinc added 0.4% to 22,065 yuan, lead nudged 0.3% up to 15,320 yuan. Tin climbed 1.6% to 193,830 yuan, nickel was up 0.3% to 182,500 yuan. However, demand uncertainty continued to weigh on the market. Minutes from the Fed's last policy meeting showed officials forecasting that the banking sector stress would tip the economy into recession. Investors are cutting their bullish bets in major metals in the face of rising recession risks, analysts at ANZ said in a research note.


LME aluminium held steady at $2,325 a tonne, lead dipped 0.1% to $2,126, nickel trimmed 0.1% at $23,555. Zinc inched 0.3% up to $2,792 and tin added 0.3% to $24,100. For the top stories in metals and other news, click or ($1 = 6.8730 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton; editing by Uttaresh Venkateshwaran)


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