Copper gains on weaker dollar, but set to snap seven-week winning streak

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.

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.

A weaker U.S. currency =USD supported base metals on Friday. The dollar was hovering near a three-month low against a basket of major currencies and was headed for a weekly decline of around 0.9%.

The dollar has come under pressure after the U.S. Treasury moved this week to expand buybacks of long-dated government debt, while investors remained concerned about the country's fiscal outlook.