Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell
0.4% to $8,934 a tonne by 0229 GMT, while the most-traded May
copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 0.2% to 69,460 yuan ($10,074.70) a tonne.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams
said Wednesday that inflation is still at problematic levels and
the U.S. central bank will act to lower it.
A Reuters poll of economists showed that the U.S. Federal
Reserve is likely to deliver a final 25-basis-point interest
rate increase in May and then hold the rates steady for the rest
of 2023, and a short and shallow recession this year is likely.
Higher interest rates in the United States usually
translates to a firmer dollar, which makes greenback-priced
metals more expensive to holders of other currencies.
LME aluminium shed 0.6% to $2,430.50 a tonne, nickel fell 0.4% to $25,440 a tonne, zinc eased 0.2% to
$2,784.50 a tonne, lead decreased 0.4% to $2,146.50 a
tonne while tin rose 0.3% to $27,150 a tonne.
SHFE zinc dropped 1.3% to 22,090 yuan a tonne, tin decreased 0.6% to 219,200 yuan a tonne, while aluminium rose 0.4% to 19,090 yuan a tonne and nickel advanced 0.4% to 195,980 yuan a tonne.
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($1 = 6.8945 yuan)
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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