Copper Ticks Higher on Hopes for a Trade Deal
18 February 2019 - 11:58AM
Dow Jones News
By David Hodari
LONDON--Copper prices edged up Monday, buoyed by hopes for a
trade agreement between the U.S. and China on a day of
thinner-than-normal volumes.
The industrial metal was up 0.3% at $6,243.50 a metric ton, with
trading volumes expected to drain away later in the day with the
U.S. on vacation.
Gold, meanwhile, ticked up 0.1% to $1,324.50 a troy ounce as the
U.S. dollar edged lower. The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the
U.S. currency against a basket of 16 others, was last down 0.1%,
extending its five-day losses to 0.3%.
Copper remained in its recent trading range Monday, as investors
remained upbeat about President Trump's remarks last week that
U.S.-China trade negotiations, due to resume this week, had been
"very productive."
Improved Chinese credit data released last week were also
supporting metals markets, according to Alastair Munro, broker at
Marex Spectron in a note.
In copper-specific news, India's supreme court overturned an
order to restart Vedanta Resources's copper smelter in the Tamil
Nadu region, according to local reports. That keeps Vedanta's
400,000 ton-a-year smelter closed and maintains pressure on global
supply.
Elsewhere, Freeport Indonesia's copper concentrate export permit
expired on Feb. 15, and the company hasn't received export
recommendations from the mining ministry that will help it to
obtain a new permit, according to Reuters.
Investors were awaiting further announcements on trade, as well
as European, U.S., and Chinese economic data due out in the course
of the week.
Among precious metals, silver was up 0.25% at $15.81 a troy
ounce, palladium was up 1.57% at $1,457 a troy ounce and platinum
was down 0.05% at $806.61 a troy ounce.
Among base metals, aluminum was down 0.13% at $1,853 a metric
ton, zinc was down 1.73% at $2,618 a metric ton, tin was up 0.05%
at $21,115 a metric ton, nickel was down 0.52% at $12,350 a metric
ton and lead was down 1.56% at $2,044.50 a metric ton.
Write to David Hodari at David.Hodari@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 18, 2019 06:43 ET (11:43 GMT)
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