BEIJING — Copper prices were under pressure on Wednesday as expectations of prolonged tepid demand offset support from a softer dollar, while trading remained cautious ahead of key U.S. inflation data.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.6% at $8,539.50 a tonne as of 0751 GMT, while the most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended day-time trade 0.2% lower at 67,240 yuan ($9,727.87) a tonne.
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Investors are awaiting key U.S. consumer prices data to be released later in the day, which will provide more clues on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path.
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Amid caution, the dollar eased marginally on Wednesday after U.S. President Joe Biden and top lawmakers failed to break a deadlock on the debt ceiling crisis.
Any rebound in copper prices might be capped as tepid demand is expected to stay for at least the second quarter, analysts at Meierya Futures said, adding the increases in inventories outside of China added further pressure to global prices.
Copper inventories
Copper inventories in SHFE warehouses
Meanwhile, Peru’s March copper production leapt 20.4% from a year earlier to reach 219,275 tonnes, the country’s energy and mining ministry said on Tuesday, as large mines resume their operations following stoppages due to social protests.
Among other metals, LME aluminum dipped 0.5% at $2,307.50 a tonne, tin eased 0.4% to $25,890, zinc trimmed 1.2% to $2,642.50, lead slid 0.6% to $2,124, while nickel gained 0.2% to $23,550.
SHFE aluminum eased 0.1% to 18,295 yuan a tonne, nickel fell 2.2% to 179,460 yuan, tin was down 1.8% at 207,530 yuan, zinc dipped 0.3% to 21,395 yuan, while lead ticked up 0.2% to 15,285 yuan.
For the top stories in metals and other news, click or ($1 = 6.9121 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Varun H K)
