Metals rangebound

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HANGHAI- Most base metals were rangebound on Monday, as a strong US dollar following robust economic data capped gains and news of Indonesia slashing nickel ore mining quota supported Shanghai nickel.

The dollar began the week strong on a blowout US jobs report that highlighted the world’s largest economy’s outperformance, with unexpected job growth acceleration and 4.1 percent decline in unemployment rate last month, prompting traders to dial back bets for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.

The dollar index at $109.62 was slightly lower than the two-year high hit on Jan. 2.

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A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was flat at $9,094 per metric ton.

Meanwhile, the most traded nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) outperformed, gaining 1.4 percent to 127,130 yuan by 0119 GMT, supported by Indonesia reducing nickel ore quota.

Indonesia has set a quota of around 200 million tons for nickel ore mining in 2025, a senior mining ministry official said.

“Indonesia has set its nickel ore mining quota for 2025 at 200 million tons, down from 270 million tons in 2024. This year’s quota is expected to be insufficient to meet the demand from nickel smelters,” analysts at Jinrui Futures said.

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