HANOI- Prices of non-ferrous metals climbed on Thursday, backed by a softer dollar after US inflation showed signs of slowing, making greenback-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 1.6 percent at $10,381.50 per metric ton, while the most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) advanced 1.1 percent to 82,520 yuan ($11,435.54) a ton.
The dollar skidded to multi-month lows after US core inflation hit its slowest in three years, pulling forward expectations for rate cuts in the world’s biggest economy and drawing bets that the US currency may have peaked, for now.
Prices of base metals were lifted by inflows of funds betting on supply disruptions and an increasing need to use the metals in the green energy sectors, as well as on hopes of rate cuts that could further pressure the dollar and boost economic growth and metals demand in general.
Still, higher copper prices – up by around a fifth so far this year – have hurt physical demand. Importers in top consumer China now get a discount of $2 a ton to take copper in, compared with a premium of more than $100 a ton last December.
