Updates prices, adds comments
Feb 1 (Reuters) – Benchmark copper prices rose in light Asian trading on Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar lost ground and risk sentiment improved after Federal Reserve policymakers allayed investor fears of a rapid pace of monetary tightening.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was up 0.6% at $9,558 a tonne, as of 0712 GMT.
The metal often seen as a leading barometer of global economic health dipped 2.2% in January, pressured by the dollar’s strength that makes greenback-priced metals more expensive, and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s more hawkish remarks last week.
The U.S. dollar index =USD was almost unchanged on Tuesday, nursing its wounds following its biggest drop in nearly three weeks against major peers, as Fed policymakers signalled a lift-off in rates in March, but spoke cautiously about what might follow.
The index hit an almost 19-month high at the end of last week, propelled by bets the Fed could raise rates by 50 basis points in March.
“A slightly weaker USD helped spur investor appetite for the metals,” ANZ commodities strategists said in a note.
U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday, at the end of a volatile month for Wall Street, and the rebound “has got some thinking whether the trough has passed,” said Tapas Strickland, director of economics at National Australia Bank.
“Whether we have passed the trough is uncertain, but certainly for some value is re-emerging,” he said in note.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Trading volumes were thin as markets in top metals consumer China remained closed for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.
* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will vow to uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty on a visit to Kyiv on Tuesday as part of the West’s diplomatic efforts to stop a possible Russian invasion which Moscow says there is no proof it is planning.
* Aluminium CMAL3 rose 0.5% to $3,037 a tonne, zinc CMZN3 climbed 0.5% to $3,604.50, and nickel CMNI3 gained 0.4% to $22,415, while lead CMPB3 was little changed at $2,245 and tin CMSN3 slipped 0.1% to $42,995.
(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Subhranshu Sahu)
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