Prices of most nonferrous metals rose on Tuesday as a weaker US dollar made the greenback-priced commodities cheaper to holders of other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.4 percent to $8,002 per metric ton while the most-traded December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced 0.6 percent to 66,300 yuan ($9,081.07) a ton.
The dollar softened against a basket of currencies, mirroring a dip in Treasuries yields as investors awaited key US economic data before the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting next week.
LME aluminum increased 0.3 percent to $2,182 a ton, nickel rose 1.1 percent to $18,385, zinc advanced 0.6 percent to $2,435, lead was up 0.3 percent at $2,108 and tin was almost unchanged at $24,900.
However, the cash contracts for five out of six base metals on the LME were trading at a premium to their corresponding three-month contracts, indicating ample near-term supplies.
All base metals except tin were headed for a monthly decline in October.
LME copper inventories eased to 190,450 tons, but were up 157 percent from July-end. – Reuters