London copper prices slipped on Tuesday after hitting a more than two-week high in the previous session, as the dollar rebounded and demand worries persisted due to ongoing lockdowns in top consumer China.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.7 percent at $9,481.50 a ton, after hitting its highest since May 5 at $9,565 on Monday.
The most-active June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.1 percent to 72,100 yuan ($10,822.74) a ton by the midday break.
“China has announced a raft of stimulus package to support the economy. That is bullish and another tailwind is the weak dollar,” said Jigar Trivedi, a commodities analyst at Mumbai-based broker AnandRathi Shares.
“But the Biden administration has warned China of re imposing the tariffs of Trump era if the China-Taiwan situation deteriorates. Also, Beijing yesterday reported the highest COVID-infected numbers.”
Beijing stepped up quarantine efforts to end its month-old COVID outbreak as fresh signs of frustration emerged in Shanghai, where some bemoaned unfair curbs with the city of 25 million preparing to lift a prolonged lockdown in just over a week.
The safe-haven dollar clawed back some of its overnight losses on Tuesday, making greenback-denominated metals more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
