Copper gains on weaker dollar, but set to snap seven-week winning streak
XLB•Copper rises as dollar weakens
Copper rose on Friday as a weaker dollar supported metals, but the London contract was set for its first weekly decline in eight weeks as inventories climbed and nearby price spreads narrowed sharply.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was up 0.69% at $14,133 a metric ton by 0700 GMT. The contract was on track to end the week 0.16% lower, snapping seven consecutive weeks of gains.
Other base metals mostly advance
Among other LME metals, aluminium CMAL3 rose 0.22%, zinc CMZN3 added 0.68%, lead CMPB3 gained 0.13%, nickel CMNI3 climbed 0.53% and tin CMSN3 advanced 0.34%.
On the SHFE, aluminium SAFcv1 added 0.34%, zinc SZNcv1 rose 1.26%, lead SPBcv1 gained 1.19%, nickel SNIcv1 fell 0.61% and tin SSNcv1 advanced 0.83%.
Inventory builds and spreads ease
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 rose 0.53% to 107,750 yuan ($16,032.56) a ton. It was up just 0.06% for the week, after falling 0.32% last week.
Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the LME MCUSTX-TOTAL have risen sharply this week after falling to their lowest since February last Friday.
Readily available LME inventories increased as traders delivered metal into warehouses and some warrant cancellations were reversed, according to Sucden Financial.
The premium for cash copper over three-month delivery CMCU0-3 surged to $545 a ton on Monday, its widest since late 2021, but has since narrowed.
"We see further copper warehouse inflows continuing to ease nearby stress, which could gradually reduce support for the outright price," Sucden Financial said.
