Prices of most base metals rose on Thursday, as a weaker dollar made greenback-priced metals more expensive to holders of other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange advanced 1.7 percent to $8,609.50 a ton while the most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased 0.4 percent to 67,160 yuan ($9,738.98) a ton.
The dollar slipped against most major currencies after the US Federal Reserve opened the door to a pause in its aggressive tightening cycle, though markets were buffeted by risk aversion amid a rout in regional US bank shares.
LME aluminum rose 0.6 percent to $2,334.50 a ton, nickel increased 0.6 percent to $24,900 a ton, zinc climbed 0.8 percent to $2,650 a ton, lead was up 0.1 percent at $2,133 a ton while tin fell 0.8 percent to $26,560 a ton.
SHFE aluminum increased 0.3 percent to 18,495 yuan a ton, nickel jumped 3.6 percent to 188,660 yuan a ton, tin leaped 1.2 percent to 211,860 yuan a ton, zinc advanced 0.6 percent to 21,320 yuan a ton and lead was up 0.7 percent at 15,360 yuan a ton.
Nickel inventories in SHFE warehouses fell to a record low of 1,426 tons on Friday, causing the premium of the SHFE front-month nickel contract over the third month contract to rise. — Reuters
