LME Base Metals Slip on Stronger Dollar, Chinese Demand Concerns
Content of the article
Metal prices in London fell in early Asian trading on Wednesday as the dollar surged on growing prospects for larger interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve this year, while concerns over demand for China, the biggest consumer, persisted.
Markets in mainland China have reopened after two days of public holidays. The Chinese authorities on Tuesday extended the confinement in Shanghai to cover all of the 26 million inhabitants of the financial center.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.1% to $10,345 a tonne, as of 02:01 GMT, after hitting a four-week high of $10,580 on Tuesday.
Advertisement 2
Content of the article
* The dollar hit its highest level in nearly two years, extending gains fueled by hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials.
* A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated metals more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
* The United States and its allies were due to impose new sanctions on Moscow on Wednesday for the killings of civilians in northern Ukraine, which President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called “war crimes” requiring proportionate punishment.
* Activity in China’s service sector contracted at the fastest pace in two years in March as the local surge in coronavirus cases restricted mobility and weighed on customer demand, a survey by the private sector.
* For top metal stories and other news, click or
Advertisement 3
Content of the article
MARKET NEWS
* Asian stock markets fell as investors faced the possibility of aggressive monetary tightening from the Fed to fight inflation.
* COLUMN: A massive exit by traders from the nickel market opens a volatility trap, writes Reuters columnist Andy Home.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0600 Germany Industrial Controls MM Feb
1800 Federal Open Market Committee to Release Minutes of Its March 15-16, 2022 Policy Meeting
PRICES
Three Month LME Copper
Most active copper ShFE
Three Month LME Aluminum
Most Active ShFE Aluminum
Three-Month LME Zinc
Zinc ShFE most active
Three-month LME advance
Lead ShFE most active
Nickel LME three months
Most Active Nickel ShFE
Three Month LME Box
Most active ShFE tin
ARBS (Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
Advertising
