Copper, base metals gain on relief from softer dollar

Copper and most of the wider industrial metals complex ticked up on Thursday, supported by a weaker dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates stable.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.75% at $13,676 a metric ton by 0730 GMT. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange edged 0.1% lower to 104,690 yuan ($15,492.65) a ton.

The dollar fell to a one-week low as markets gauged possible Fed interest rate paths after policymakers voted to keep rates steady on Wednesday.

A cheaper dollar can boost greenback-denominated commodities by making them more affordable for buyers using other currencies and higher interest rates can weigh on growth-dependent commodities by dampening economic activity.

Markets are now pricing in a 58% chance of a rate hike in September, down from 81% before the policy statement, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Pressure on inventories, supply concerns and demand from China also offered support for the red metal.

Available stocks of copper in LME-registered warehouses edged up to 101,975 tons on Wednesday, as some material was put back on warrant, pausing a decline which saw available stocks fall 4.83% compared with the previous Wednesday.

Aluminium, meanwhile, remained firm, edging up 0.05% on the LME and climbing 1.03% on the SHFE.

Supply of the light metal has been buffeted by continuing fighting in the Middle East, a major producing region.

LME inventories of aluminium are at their lowest level on record, with the vast majority of remaining stocks of Russian origin, which many traders avoid.