1 week Ago
By Violet Li and Mei Mei Chu SHANGHAI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Most base metals edged up within tight ranges on Friday, influenced by mixed macroeconomic data from China and the United States, but gains were limited by a stronger U.S. dollar.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) had inched up 0.1% to $8,813.5 per metric ton as of 0151 GMT.
The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) dropped 0.3% to 73,070 yuan ($10,010.41) a ton.
On Friday, the dollar was poised for its best weekly performance in over a month, fueled by expectations of slow U.S. interest rate cuts after a larger-than-expected drop in weekly jobless claims.
A stronger dollar makes it more expensive for holders of other currencies to buy greenback-priced commodities. "The dollar remains strong; downward pressure on copper prices persist," analysts at Jinrui Futures said in a note. In China, the Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI nudged down to 50.
5 in December from 51.5 the previous month, falling short of the market expectation of 51.7, suggesting a slowed pace of expansion.
LME aluminium was relatively unchanged at $2,530 a ton, nickel rose 0.2% to $15,100, zinc lost 0.1% to $2,923, tin gained 0.
3% to $28,650, while lead was 0.1% higher at $1,935. SHFE aluminium was down 0.
3% to 19,830 yuan a ton, nickel fell 1.5% to 122,530 yuan, zinc retreated 2.3% to 24,630 yuan, lead dropped 0.
4% to 16,755 yuan, and tin edged down 0.6% to 242,570 yuan. For the top stories in metals and other news, click or ($1 = 7.
2994 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Violet Li and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Savio D'Souza).
