Copper dips as dollar firms, Trump’s tariff threat clouds demand outlook

Copper prices eased on Thursday, pressured by a stronger dollar and worries that potential U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods could dampen metals consumption.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 eased 0.3% to $8,991 per metric ton by 0758 GMT, while the most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1 closed 0.2% lower at 73,770 yuan ($10,172.79) a ton.

The dollar index .DXY edged higher, making greenback-priced metals more expensive to holders of other currencies.

Earlier this week, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he will impose an additional 10% tariffs on all Chinese goods after he takes office in January.

Copper prices will be trading within a tight range for the short term as people are waiting for more details on Trump’s policies and how the Chinese government reacts to them, said analyst Matt Huang at broker BANDS Financial.

Some investors are also awaiting key policy meetings in China and companies’ earnings reports to gauge their annual performances, he said.

“We will be here for a while but if the U.S. dollar depreciates a lot copper price will go up,” Huang said.

However, supporting copper at $9,000, a key resistance level, is solid buying from China.

“It’s all about the absolute price. At $9,000 they will buy more,” Huang said.

Copper inventories in SHFE warehouses CU-STX-SGH dropped to their lowest since Feb. 5 at 120,236 tons.

LME aluminium CMAL3 dropped 1% to $2,568.50 a ton, while nickel CMNI3 rose 0.8% to $16,005, zinc CMZN3 shed 2.1% to $3,067, lead CMPB3 fell 0.4% to $2,048.50 and tin CMSN3 shed 1.6% to $27,500.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 fell 1.6% to 20,225 yuan a ton, tin SSNcv1 dropped 2% to 233,210 yuan, while nickel SNIcv1 rose 0.4% to 127,000 yuan, zinc SZNcv1 fell 0.8% to 25,355 yuan and lead SPBcv1 advanced 0.4% to 17,300 yuan.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)