London copper prices dropped nearly 1 percent on Tuesday as a firmer dollar made greenback-priced metals expensive to holders of other currencies, while markets continued to process the sudden collapse of US regional banks.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.9 percent to $8,854 a ton while the most-traded April copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.5 percent to 68,630 yuan ($9,998.54) a ton.
The dollar edged higher, having dropped to near a one-month low in the previous session as traders and investors expect a slowdown in interest rate hikes following the collapse of the banks.
Fears of a US banking crisis were intensified by the collapse of lenders Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank even as President Joe Biden pledged to take action to ensure the safety of the banking system.
Still, green shoots of improved copper demand in top consumer China cushioned the drop in prices.
Yangshan copper premium rose to $25 a ton on Monday, its highest since March 1, indicating improving demand for imported copper into China, albeit still far below some $150-a-ton premium hit last October. – Reuters
