Prices of nonferrous metals in London fell on Thursday as the dollar rallied after the US Federal Reserve signaled more interest rate hikes later this year.
A firmer dollar makes greenback-priced metals more expensive to holders of other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.2 percent to $8,411 per metric ton, while the most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was almost unchanged at 67,840 yuan ($9,455.05) per metric ton.
The Fed left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but signaled in new projections that borrowing costs may still need to rise by as much as half of a percentage point by the end of this year, as the US central bank reacted to a stronger-than-expected economy and a slower decline in inflation.
LME aluminum fell 1.6 percent to $2,218 per metric ton, nickel declined 1.5 percent to $22,380, zinc shed 1.6 percent to $2,446, lead eased 1.2 percent to $2,093 and tin dropped 1.4 percent to $26,400.
SHFE aluminum dipped 0.6 percent to 18,310 yuan per metric ton, nickel rose 2.4 percent to 171,130 yuan, zinc advanced 1.3 percent to 20,275 yuan, lead edged up 0.2 percent to 15,360 yuan and tin rose 1.3 percent to 214,120 yuan.
Meanwhile, China’s central bank cut the borrowing cost of its medium-term policy loans for the first time in 10 months, days after it lowered two key short-term policy rates, as Beijing ramps up stimulus measures to boost economic growth.
