Prices of nonferrous metals advanced on Thursday, supported by a softer dollar as market participants assessed the US interest rates outlook.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.6 percent to $9,642 per metric ton, while the most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced 1.7 percent to 77,980 yuan ($10,778.01) a ton.
The dollar index was down, inching away from a five-and-a-half-month high hit on Tuesday. Comments by US Federal Reserve officials earlier this week cemented expectation of monetary settings remaining restrictive for a while longer.
A softer dollar makes greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies.
LME aluminum increased 0.2 percent to $2,591 a ton, nickel advanced 0.3 percent to $18,295, lead climbed 1 percent to $2,177.50, tin increased 0.6 percent to $32,960, while zinc eased 0.1 percent to $2,837.50.
SHFE aluminum increased 0.6 percent to 20,415 yuan a ton, nickel jumped 1.9 percent to 137,470 yuan, zinc climbed 1.9 percent to 22,870 yuan, lead advanced 0.6 percent to 17,060 yuan and tin was up 2.2 percent at 258,840 yuan.
China’s imports of unwrought aluminum and products jumped 89.8 percent to 380,000 metric tons in March, customs data showed.
