Base metals’ month-long rally paused on Wednesday as concerns about demand from top consumer China and a rally in the U.S. dollar prompted selling by funds and producers.
Three-month aluminum on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 2.4 percent to $2,489 per metric ton. It had hit an eight-week high of $2,554 on Tuesday, up 12 percent from early August.
Copper fell 2 percent to $9,256 a tonne; zinc dropped 2.2 percent to $2,879; lead lost 2 percent to $2,082.5; nickel fell 1.1 percent to $16,955 and tin fell 1.1 percent to $32,485.
Systematic fund buying has stopped in the metals sector and producers are selling through rallies, said Alastair Munro of brokerage Marex.
The senior metals strategist also cited disappointing results from major metal-consuming industries in China, from automakers to property developers and internet companies.
Weak Chinese factory output and weak confidence in the country’s property sector could reverse the upward momentum seen last month, he said.
Metal prices were also affected by the dollar’s recovery from a one-year low, ahead of economic data that could set the tone for the Federal Reserve’s September meeting.
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– 2024-09-03 10:00:50
