HANOI- Copper prices edged up marginally in London on Tuesday, as market participants exercised caution ahead of the testimony of the US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.1 percent to $9,922.50 per metric ton, while the most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) eased 0.1 percent to 80,250 yuan ($11,034.72) a ton.
Markets participants awaited for clues on the path of interest rates from Powell’s scheduled testimony before Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Copper prices are influenced by interest rates in the United States as they impact the US dollar and the global economic growth outlook, which can eventually hurt or boost demand of the metal.
Also supporting copper prices are signs of improving physical demand from top consumer China, evidenced by the discount to import copper into China flipping to a premium of $3 a ton on Friday.
However, the demand recovery is fragile because the premium returned to zero on Monday and is still far below the premium level above $100 a ton seen in December last year.
LME aluminum dipped 0.2 percent to $2,526.50 a ton, nickel declined 0.7 percent to $17,355, zinc eased 0.4 percent to $2,944.50, lead fell 0.4 percent to $2,223.50 while tin was almost unchanged at $34,220.
