Copper gains on softer dollar as US jobs growth data disappoints
Recasts after U.S. data
By Julian Luk
London Nov 1 (Reuters) -Copper prices rose on Friday as disappointing U.S. October jobs gain has firmed up chances of Federal Reserve interest-rate cut next week to weaken the dollar.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 rose 0.6% to $9,558 per metric ton during official rings.
The industrial metals prices were supported by a weaker dollar, which makes greenback priced metals cheaper for holders of foreign currencies.
The dollar .DXY erased early gains to trade lower after U.S. nonfarm payrolls gains fell short of expectations amid disruptions from hurricanes and strikes by aerospace factory workers in October.
A soft labour market made traders pricing about a 99% chance of a quarter-point interest-rate cut for U.S. central bank meeting on Nov. 7, compared to 92% before.
A lower interest rate discourage foreign investments to pressure the dollar.
Trading volumes in industrial metals overall remained thin with market taking a wait-and-see approach amid the uncertainty over the Nov. 5 presidential election, said CRU analyst Craig Lang.
The election outcome is a determinant of tariff policies between U.S. and top metals consumer China. Polls indicate a close race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
The uncertainty pushed dollar/offshore yuan CNHSWO= on Friday to a level not seen since August 2015.
The U.S. election result could even affect the size of China's stimulus to revive the fragile economy of the world's biggest metals consumer.
Beijing mulled issuance of over 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) in extra debt, a fiscal package that would be further bolstered if Trump is elected.
Whether the stimulus could feed into Chinese industrial sector remains a key question for metal investors.
China's October manufacturing activity swung back to expansion for the first time in six months, with improvement in export orders close to the year-end.
For other metals, lead CMPB3 rose to one-week high of $2,070 earlier. It last traded at $2,069.
LME aluminium CMAL3 rose 0.9% to $2,642 a ton, nickel CMNI3 increased 2.3% to $16,075, zinc CMZN3 advanced 0.9% to $3,057 and tin CMSN3 gained 1.2% at $31,590.
Reporting by Julian Luk; Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Janane Venkatraman and Tom Hogue
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
