BENGALURU- Copper futures inched higher on Thursday, although a firmer dollar and uncertainty over economic recovery in top consumer China kept prices of the red metal near a two-month low.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.1 percent at $9,551.00 per metric ton. Still, the contract traded near its lowest since April 18 hit in the previous session.
In the broader market, the dollar was on the front foot and stood near an eight-week high against a basket of currencies. A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced commodities less attractive to holders of other currencies.
The most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was flat at 77,980 yuan ($10,729.08) a ton.
In industrial metal prices, downside momentum has proven resilient as commodity demand continues to weaken amid a precarious global macro landscape, analysts at TD Securities said in a note.
“Inventory levels of copper continue to surge in China, while local premiums remain low, signaling little sign of physical demand to back to euphoric positioning in the West,” according to the note.
