NEW DELHI- Copper prices hit a three-week high for a second day on Friday, as lingering unease about a possible crisis in the banking sector kept the US dollar near seven-week lows.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.29 percent at $9,057 a ton, after earlier touching its highest since Mar. 2 at $9,095 a ton.
A weaker dollar makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.
The most traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 1.84 percent to 69,760 yuan a ton.
The dollar was pinned near seven-week lows on Friday as nervousness over banks kept investors skittish, and traders assessed the Federal Reserve’s chances of a pause to interest rate hikes.
The Fed on Wednesday raised rates by a widely expected 25 basis points (bps), but took a cautious stance on outlook because of turmoil in the banking sector.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday reiterated that she was prepared to take further action to ensure that Americans’ bank deposits stayed safe, in a bid to calm investor nerves.
However, some analysts said the metal could outperform soon.
“While industrial metals remain sensitive to macroeconomic developments, green shoots are emerging in Chinese demand,” said Soni Kumari, commodity strategist at ANZ Research.
“If the ongoing banking crisis is not destabilizing, we believe industrial metals prices are set to outperform.”
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