Oct 6 (Reuters) – Copper prices in London fell on Wednesday, as a firmer dollar made greenback-priced metals more expensive to holders of other currencies.
The dollar hovered close to its highs for the year in choppy trade as the focus of investors turned to U.S. jobs data and to a likely rate hike in New Zealand.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 fell 0.9% to $9,089 a tonne by 0218 GMT, aluminium CMAL3 eased 0.1% to $2,918 a tonne, nickel CMNI3 declined 0.4% to $18,055 a tonne while lead CMPB3 rose 0.4% to $2,159.50 a tonne.
Also pressuring price is easing supply disruption threat in Peru, the world’s second bigger producer of mined copper.
Peru’s government said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement with MMG Ltd’s 1208.HK Las Bambas mine and the local Chumbivilcas community to avoid road blockades that have threatened production at the huge copper mine.
Trade was tepid as China is on holiday from Oct. 1-7.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Brazilian miner Vale SA VALE3.SA said on Tuesday the production of copper concentrate at its Salobo mine is suspended due to a fire affecting a conveyor belt.
* LME cash nickel was at a $11.50 premium over the three-month contract CMNI0-3, indicating tight nearby supplies as inventories fell in global exchange warehouses.
* Nickel inventories in LME warehouses MNISTX-TOTAL fell to 154,440 tonnes, the lowest since December 2019, while ShFE stockpiles of the metal NI-STX-SGH hovered near their record low levels.
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TOP/MTL or MET/L MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares dropped, reversing early gains, after an overnight rebound in U.S. and European stocks as investors shrugged off worries about a potential U.S. government debt default, while oil paused near new multi-year highs. MKTS/GLOB DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0600 Germany Industrial Orders MM Aug
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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