LONDON—US copper prices rose to their highest in more than three weeks on Friday, buoyed by a weaker dollar and worries about problems at a big mine in Congo.
US Comex copper futures HGc3 climbed 3 percent to $4.82 a lb, the strongest since April 30.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) gained 1.2 percent to $9,617 a metric ton, its strongest since May 14.
Earlier base metal prices ticked lower after US President Donald Trump said he would impose 50 percent tariffs on goods from the European Union, but bounced back as the dollar index fell to its lowest in over three weeks.
A weaker US currency makes dollar-priced metals more attractive for buyers using other currencies.
Copper was also bolstered by concerns about the huge Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the biggest copper producer in Africa and one of the world’s largest.
China’s Zijin Mining warned that a suspension of activity due to seismic activity may have an “adverse impact” on achieving planned production this year of 520,000 to 580,000 tons.
“It sounds fairly bad and obviously it’s a pretty big mine,” said Dan Smith, managing director at Commodity Market Analytics.
