Prices of most non-ferrous metals declined on Tuesday, pressured by a dollar that hit a five-month high, as traders gauged slimmer chances and a smaller scale for US interest rate cuts.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.4 percent at $9,542.50 per metric ton, while the most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) edged up 0.1 percent at 77,150 yuan ($10,662.70) a ton.
The dollar hit a five-month high following hotter-than-expected US retail sales figures, raising more questions about when the US Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates, following robust employment gains in March and a pick-up in consumer inflation.
A firmer dollar makes greenback-priced metals more expensive to holders of other currencies.
In top metals consumer China, the economy grew faster than forecast in the first quarter, a sign that metals demand might have been better than expected, but also reduced the hope for a strong stimulus policy.
The discount of LME cash copper to the three-month contract tightened to $76.53 a ton, the lowest level since Feb. 20, suggesting that near-term supply availability has tightened.
