Copper prices in soft dollars are more than 2-week highs, expecting Chinese demand

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Copper prices hit a two-week high on Monday, supported by a weaker US dollar and hopes of a recovery in demand as top metal consumer China plans to end its COVID-19 lockdown.

Fundamentals

* The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.4% to 9,463 per tonne, reaching সর্বোচ্চ 9,532, the highest Asian trade since May 5, according to 0209 GMT.

* The most active June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.3% to 71,980 yuan ($ 10,758.06) per tonne, after touching a high since May 6.

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* Shanghai, in the seventh week of its lockdown, is slowly allowing more people to leave their homes in recent days and plans to lift the citywide lockdown and return to a more normal life from June 1.

* The dollar started the week after the first weekly loss in nearly two months, as investors reduced their bets on further dollar gains from rising U.S. rates and became optimistic that easing the lockdown in China could help global growth.

* A weaker dollar makes greenback-formatted metals less expensive for buyers using other currencies.

* Last week, China cut its benchmark reference rate for mortgages by an unexpectedly wide margin, as Beijing seeks to revive the ailing housing sector to boost its economy.

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* COLUMN- Another year of lead surplus but not for everyone: Andy Home

* Operations at Botswana’s Khomakau Zone 5 copper and silver mines have been suspended after two people were killed in an underground accident on Friday, the company said on Saturday.

* Copper inventory in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.7% from a week earlier, the exchange said Friday.

* In April, global primary aluminum output remained unchanged at 5.599 million tons per year, according to data from the International Aluminum Institute.

* Metals and other news For top news, click or

Market news

* Asian stocks came under pressure on Monday as new concerns over global economic outlook and technology stocks weighed on Chinese markets, with continued concerns over inflation and rising interest rates.

Data / Events (GMT)

0800 Germany Ifo Business Climate New May

0800 Germany Ifo Current Status New May

0800 Germany Ifo Expectations New May

Price

Three months LME copper

The most active is ShFE copper

Three months LME aluminum

The most active is ShFE aluminum

Three months LME Zinc

The most active is ShFE Zinc

Three month LME lead

The most active ShFE lead

LME nickel for three months

The most active is ShFE nickel

Three-month-old LME tin

The most active ShFE tin

($ 1 = 6.6908 yuan) (Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bangalore; Editing by Shuvrangshu Sahu)

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