Copper edges up while facing pressures from Chinese demand concerns

Copper prices rose modestly on Thursday while the dollar gained ground, with ongoing concerns about Chinese demand on industrial metals, however copper was still heading for a 4% monthly profit.

Copper three-month futures at the London Metals Exchange fell 0.2% to $8834 a tonne as of 12:37 GMT. 

A recent Reuters survey indicates that China’s manufacturing sector will likely shrink for the sixth month in a row in March but with a slower pace. 

Market reaction to proposals by Chinese copper smelters to cut production by 5-10% was muted as the plan was already priced in before. 

Otherwise, the dollar index gained ground on Thursday, hurting dollar-denominated commodity futures such as copper.

Now investors await crucial US personal spending data, the Fed’s favorite inflation index, to gauge the likely pace of US monetary easing this year. 

As for other metals, aluminum prices rose 0.6% at the London Metals Exchange to $2311 a tonne, while zinc fell 0.2% to $2433, as lead shed 0.2% to $1,999, while tin fell 0.3% to $27440. 

The dollar index rose 0.1% as of 16:30 GMT to 104.4, with a session-high at 104.7, and a low at 104.3. 

Copper May futures rose 0.2% as of 16:30 GMT to $4 a pound.