Metals-Copper rebounds on weaker dollar

Copper prices rose on Friday, supported by a weaker dollar and top metals consumer China pledging fiscal policy measures to strengthen economic growth.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was up 1.4% at $14,233 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading.

Copper hit a six-month peak of $14,396 on Monday due to worries about low inventories outside the U.S., but massive inflows into the LME-registered warehouses during the week helped ease some tightness. MCUSTX-TOTAL

The premium of the LME cash copper contract over the benchmark CMCU0-3 slid to $55 a ton on Friday from Monday's $436 as more metal became available for immediate delivery.

The dollar was set to end a bumpy week lower, as investors questioned whether the U.S. Treasury's efforts to calm the bond markets might end up undermining confidence in the currency. FRX/

A weaker U.S. currency makes dollar-priced metals more attractive for buyers using other currencies.

China's yuan ended the week at a 3-1/2-year peak against the dollar, while the Yangshan copper premium SMM-CUYP-CN, a gauge of China's appetite for importing copper, rose 7% to $93 a ton.

Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange jumped 28% this week.

A greater share of fiscal spending in China will be directed towards households and consumption, Vice Finance Minister Liao Min said, as policymakers seek to shore up weak domestic demand.

Among other LME metals, zinc CMZN3 added 1.7% to $3,823, its four-year high, while aluminium CMAL3 rose 1.2% to $3,242 in official activity.

Canada and the U.S. are "very close" to agreeing to a trade deal that could help reduce months of tariffs, but more work remains to be done, a top Canadian official said.

A source familiar with the talks previously told Reuters that a proposed deal could halve tariffs on Canadian aluminium to 25%.