Copper rebounds in London as dollar dips
Jan 18 (Reuters) - Copper prices in London rebounded on Thursday from a six-week low hit in the previous session as a weaker dollar made greenback-priced metals cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.6% to $8,320.50 per metric ton by 0712 GMT, while the most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed down 0.1% at 67,870 yuan ($9,433.86) a ton.
The dollar index eased from a one-month peak versus major peers.
However, copper is still on track for the fourth straight week of losses on both bourses, weighed down by a strong dollar as bets of U.S. rate cuts receded.
On the COMEX, short positions on copper shot up in the first week of 2024 and money managers turned net short on copper by Jan. 9 for the first time since Nov. 14 last year, latest data showed.
"The dollar's upside is largely driven by weakening expectations of an early cut from the Fed this year," broker Sucden Financial said in a note.
"We expect this narrative to continue into Q2 2024, keeping base metals trading at the lower end of recent ranges," they added.
LME aluminium rose 0.4% to $2,187.50 a ton, zinc edged up 0.2% at $2,470.50, nickel advanced 0.9% to $16,220, tin rose 0.1% at $25,260, while lead eased 0.2% to $2,059.50.
SHFE aluminium eased 0.4% to 18,795 yuan a ton, nickel rose 0.5% to 128,260 yuan, zinc dropped 2% to 20,770 yuan, lead was flat at 16,215 yuan and tin edged down 0.1% at 213,060 yuan.
China's imports of aluminium jumped 28% to 3.06 million tons in 2023, customs data showed, on robust demand in the metal's biggest consumer market.
The country imported 1.06 million tons of primary aluminium from Russia in the first 11 months of 2023, soaring 178.3% from a year earlier, the data showed.
For the top stories in metals and other news, click or ($1 = 7.1943 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sohini Goswami)
