Copper prices declined on Monday as a firm dollar made greenback-priced metals more expensive to holders of other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.3 percent to $8,955 a ton and the most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 0.9 percent to 68,220 yuan ($10,062.69) a ton.
The dollar touched a near four-week high against a basket of currency after a strong US jobs report on Friday suggested the Federal Reserve could stay hawkish with its monetary policy for longer.
Metals prices are also pressured by doubts over China’s pace of recovery after the country removed COVID-19 restrictions. Bets on a strong recovery in Chinese demand have boosted metals prices for most of January.
However, the threat of supply disruptions prevented copper prices from a steeper fall.
Production disruptions in the major copper-producing regions of Latin America and Africa have raised the stakes for a tighter market this year, but analysts say it is too soon to downgrade forecasts for global supplies.
LME aluminum shed 0.4 percent to $2,560 a ton, tin dropped 2.8 percent to $27,580 a ton, zinc decreased 1.1 percent to $3,204.50 a ton, while lead rose 1.2 percent to $2,124.50 a ton.
SHFE aluminum declined 1.1 percent to 18,855 yuan a ton, nickel dropped 4.7 percent to 211,110 yuan a ton, tin fell 5.2 percent to 217,800 yuan a ton, zinc decreased 3.4 percent to 23,360 yuan a ton and lead eased 0.3 percent to 15,270 yuan a ton. — Reuters
