Copper prices rise in thin trading session on Chinese New Year celebrations

The copper prices They rose on Monday as the dollar lost ground, but trading volumes were thin as markets in China, the world’s top metals consumer, were closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.62% at $9,566 a tonne at 1255 GMT, overcoming some initial weakness.

“Trading will be relatively quiet throughout the week for Chinese New Year. But for now base metals are supported by benign equity markets and a dollar pushing metals higher.”, said Daniel Briesemann, an analyst at Commerzbank.

A weaker dollar favors demand for the commodities in which it is traded, while the firmness of the stock markets points to a greater appetite for risk on the part of investors.

Copper, considered an economic barometer, was headed for its biggest monthly loss since September as markets braced for a rise in US interest rates.

Benchmark aluminum prices fell 0.9% to $3,054 a tonne. However, it was poised to close the month with an advance of more than 9%, the strongest since November 2020, due to lower production, solid demand and fears that an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine could disrupt the exports of the main producer. , Russia.

In other base metals, zinc was up 0.9% at $3,634 a tonne; lead was up 0.2% at $2,267; tin gained 0.7% to $42,000; and nickel was up 0.4% at $22,430.

With information from Reuters