London copper prices inched lower on Tuesday as a firmer US dollar and uncertainties over the impact of the Omicron COVID-19 variant offset support from monetary easing in top buyer China.
Three-month copper on the LME was down 0.2 percent at $9,483 a ton, while the most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was flat at 69,360 yuan a ton.
Omicron has spread around the globe and shows signs of being more contagious than the Delta variant, but health experts, including top US infectious diseases official Anthony Fauci, said the variant appeared to be mild.
China’s central bank said on Monday it would cut the amount of cash that banks must hold in reserve, in the year’s second such move, releasing 1.2 trillion yuan ($188 billion) in long-term liquidity.
Meanwhile, the dollar was supported against safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese yen on Tuesday, hanging on to an overnight jump made with US yields as investors hoped early signs the Omicron may be mild will be proved correct.
A stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the greenback more expensive for holders of other currencies.
