BEIJING- Copper opened lower on Monday as the dollar held steady, with investors awaiting a key US inflation report due later in the week for more clues about the Federal Reserve’s rate outlook.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.3 percent at $8,438 per metric ton. The contract declined 1.1 percent last week.
The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 0.3 percent to 68,140 yuan ($9,528.47) per ton.
The dollar was steady ahead of the US inflation report that could offer further clarity on the Fed monetary policy outlook, after markets got off to a hesitant start to the year as rate cut bets were pared.
A stronger dollar makes it more expensive to buy the greenback-priced metal and, hence, pressures prices.
But supply-side disruptions amid mine closures lent some support to the metal.
The imported copper ore and concentrate index provided by Shanghai Metals Market fell to $58.63 per ton last Friday, down from around $90 in October. The index falls when market becomes tighter.
LME aluminum shed 0.4 percent to $2,265.50 a ton, zinc slid 0.9 percent to $2,538.50, nickel slipped 0.9 percent to $16,225, tin steadied at $24,620 and lead increased 0.1 percent to $2,078.50.
