Copper sinks to 3-week low as dollar firms, LME stocks rise
CPER•Other base metals also decline
Broader sentiment was weak as oil prices rose on Middle East supply concerns, adding to inflation worries ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting this week.
Aluminium CMAL3 edged down 0.3% to $3,244, zinc CMZN3 fell 1.2% to $3,833 and lead CMPB3 dropped 1.1% to $1,871.50, hitting its lowest since Aug. 3.
Nickel CMNI3 slipped 0.7% to $16,350, notching a two-month low, while tin CMSN3 lost 1.8% to $52,410, touching its lowest since July 17.
Copper hits three-week low as inventories rise
Sept. 14 (Reuters) - Copper extended losses on Monday, sinking to a three-week low as an increase in London Metal Exchange inventories eased tightness and a stronger dollar put further pressure on industrial metals prices after last week's selloff on U.S. tariff uncertainty.
Benchmark three-month LME copper CMCU3 was down 1.4% at $14,035 a metric ton as of 0925 GMT, its lowest since Aug. 21.
Tariff uncertainty and inventory moves weigh on prices
Copper sold off sharply last Thursday after Reuters reported that the White House had yet to decide whether to impose tariffs on refined copper imports, prompting the arbitrage to ship metal to the U.S. COMEX exchange LMECMXCUV6 to shrink.
The drop was enough to end a run of 58 straight daily increases in COMEX copper stocks HG-STX-COMEX stretching back to mid-June as they dipped slightly to 767,504 short tons, or 696,268 metric tons, on Thursday.
LME copper inventories MCUSTX-TOTAL meanwhile increased thanks to 9,600 tons of inflows, of which 4,550 tons were in warehouses in Italy.
The cash LME copper contract last traded at a $25 a ton discount to the three-month forward CMCU0-3, widening from a roughly $10 discount on Friday, signalling easing near-term tightness.
