Copper prices inched lower on Thursday, weighed down by rising inventory in London, although losses were cushioned by a soft US dollar and expectations of more stimulus in top consumer China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange declined 0.1 percent to $8,018.50 per metric ton, while the most-traded November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange eased 0.1 percent to 66,580 yuan ($9,117.92) a ton.
Copper inventories in LME-registered warehouses rose to 179,675 tons, the highest since May 2022, having more than tripled in just three months.
The dollar was rooted near a two-week low after minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting showed policymakers taking a cautious stance.
A softer dollar makes greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies.
Chinese policymakers are weighing a new round of stimulus with the issuance of at least 1 trillion yuan ($136.95 billion) of additional sovereign debt for spending on infrastructure, said a Bloomberg report.
Yangshan copper premium rose to $70 a ton, the highest since December 2022, signaling solid demand to import metal into China, where copper and aluminum consumption has been surprisingly resilient.
