London copper prices rose on Tuesday, helped by a slight pullback in the US dollar, although worries over COVID-19 lockdowns in top metals consumer China and weaker global economic growth kept gains in check.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 1.2 percent at $9,348 a tonne as of 0458 GMT, after falling to its lowest since Dec. 15 on Monday.
The most-active June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange eased 0.1 percent to 71,600 yuan ($10,686.25) by the noon break.
“We are see seeing some bargain-hunting and a weak dollar (is) helping prices today after a massive sell-off in commodities,” a commodities analyst at Mumbai-based broker Anand Rathi Shares said.
“For base metals, fears of a slowdown in Chinese demand amid a resurgence of COVID-19 have damaged sentiment. However, demand is likely to improve once China emerges from lockdowns.”
The dollar fell 0.2 percent after scaling a 20-year peak in the previous session, making greenback-denominated metals less expensive for buyers using other currencies.
However, the metal used in power and construction, has fallen around 14 percent from March’s record high of $10,845, as continued COVID-19 restrictions in China dented the demand outlook.
China’s two largest cities tightened COVID-19 curbs this week to battle with the virus outbreak that has battered the world’s second-largest economy.
