Copper price rises due to optimism regarding US inflation data.

Copper prices rose on Tuesday on optimism that data would show a further slowdown in U.S. inflation, but gains were limited by concerns about rising COVID-19 cases in China.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.4% at $8,411 a tonne at 1100 GMT, reversing losses from the previous session.

Metals markets have recently rallied on hopes that US inflation has peaked, allowing the central bank to ease its pace of interest rate hikes.

US November consumer inflation data will be released at 13:30 GMT and is expected to show a 6.1% year-on-year increase in the core reading, which excludes food and energy prices, below the 6.3% October.

“That inflation report has set off fireworks in the last three or four releases. If we get a negative surprise this afternoon, there is a risk of some long liquidation.said Ole Hansen of Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.

Copper is in a range of between $8,300 and $8,600 a tonne, and if prices break below, they would probably go as low as $8,100, he added.

Uncertainty about China, the main consumer of metals, weighed on the market after it began to relax restrictions due to COVID.

Among other base metals, LME aluminum was up 0.2% at $2,418 a tonne; lead added 0.3%, to US$2,187.50; tin advanced 1.2% to US$24,240; zinc was down 0.1% at $3,265; and nickel fell 1.5% to $29,070.

With information from Reuters