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The most-traded April copper contract on the SHFE fell to c yuan ($8,430) per tonne as of 10.03 am Shanghai time, down by 330 yuan from the previous day’s close.
Despite SHFE copper prices managing to end the day higher on Monday, a stronger dollar overnight saw the red metal give back these gains in the early session today.
The dollar index hit a high of 90.07 on Monday, the recent low being 88.25 on February 16, but has softened again this morning. The index was quoted at 89.74 as of 10.03am Shanghai time.
Further dampening sentiment for the red metal was the decline in Chinese import volumes witnessed in January.
China imported 314,525 tonnes of refined copper in January, a month-on-month decline of 4.2%, while copper scrap imports fell 24.1% in the same comparison, according to official Chinese customs data.
Meanwhile, investors will be looking ahead to a data-heavy day on Wednesday which includes the release of China’s manufacturing and non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ indices, the EU’s consumer price index and the preliminary gross domestic product reading from the United States.
“Copper… [is] poised in high ground and recent price dips have been well supported, but whether buyers are willing to chase prices into fresh high ground remains to be seen,” William Adams, Metal Bulletin senior analyst, said. Zinc buoyed by China data
Base metals prices
Currency moves and data releases