Copper records monthly drop amid slow demand 

By Onome Amuge

Copper prices found some support from a weaker dollar on Friday, but headed towards monthly losses, as demand for the metal fell below expectations amid a slow global economy.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) added 0.4 per cent at $8,622.50 a tonne.  However, the contract  lost 4.1 per cent in March.

The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) was up 0.7 per cent to 67,230 yuan a tonne, down three per cent for the month.

The price rises followed by opportunistic buying after falling to a four-month low in the previous session, as supply headwinds still weighed on investors sentiment, according to an ANZ research note.

Dealers also observed that the dollar index fell at the close of the week, making it more attractive for non-dollar holders to buy the greenback-priced commodity.

Meanwhile, Chinese copper miner MMG Ltd recorded a 15 per cent year-on-year drop in its first quarter copper production to 58,644 tonnes, while it maintained full-year copper production guidance at between 305,000 tonnes and 353,000 tonnes.

Market data showed that copper prices remained under pressure as slow economic growth globally clouded the demand outlook of the metal widely used in transportation, construction and home appliances.

Metal prices on the LME maintained an upward trends as aluminium gained 0.3 per cent to $2,326 a tonne, nickel was up 0.5 per cent to $24,225, zinc climbed 1.1 per cent to $2,649, tin advanced 1.2 per cent to $26,195, and lead rose 0.8 per cent  to $2,115.50.

However,metal prices were mixed on the  SHFE as  aluminium slipped 0.5 per cent to 18,480 yuan a tonne, lead lost 0.2 per cent to 15,260 yuan,  tin climbed 1.1 per cent to 210,320 yuan, nickel was up 2.1 per cent to 183,730 yuan and zinc added 0.5 per cent to 21,330 yuan.