London copper prices advanced on Thursday, supported by a weaker dollar that makes greenback-priced metals cheaper and more appealing to holders of other currencies.
The dollar hovered around a two-week low, weighed down by the latest insistence from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that rate increases aren’t on the radar.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.6% to $9,746 a tonne by 0246 GMT, while the most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.8% to 71,550 yuan ($11,044.73) a tonne, tracking overnight losses in London.
FUNDAMENTALS
* LME nickel rose 0.8% to $19,695 a tonne, aluminium fell 0.4% to $2,528 a tonne, ShFE nickel climbed 0.8% to 147,150 yuan a tonne and ShFE aluminium advanced 0.5% to 19,560 yuan a tonne.
* The premium of LME cash aluminium over the three-month contract CMAL0-3 stretched to $9.25 a tonne, the most since June 17, indicating tightening nearby supplies.
* Canadian copper miner First Quantum Minerals has shelved plans to sell a stake in its Zambian copper mines, Chief Operating Officer Tristan Pascall said on Wednesday.
* The union at BHP Group Ltd’s Escondida copper mine in Chile, the world’s largest, on Wednesday urged its members to vote to strike, saying the company was attempting to impose its will and its contract offer was “insufficient”.
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MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares managed a semblance of calm as the Fed signalled it was in no rush to taper stimulus, though the mood was fragile as investors waited to see if Beijing could stem the recent bloodletting in Chinese shares.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; editing by Vinay Dwivedi)