London copper rose on Monday as a weaker U.S. dollar makes the metal attractive for buyers using other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.3% to $6,431.50 a tonne by 0152 GMT, having lost 0.5% last week, its first weekly decline since May.
However, gains were capped as potential labor strikes in top copper producer Chile have not materialized. Antofagasta’s avoided a strike at Zaldivar copper mine in Chile, while mediation talks at its Centinela mine were extended in a last-ditch effort to stave off a strike.
The most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.4% to 51,590 yuan ($7,368.63) a tonne, tracking losses in the previous overnight London session.
FUNDAMENTALS
* OTHER PRICES: LME aluminium rose 0.1% to $1,702 a tonne, nickel advanced 0.8% to $13,765 a tonne, while ShFE aluminium was up 0.4% to 14,470 yuan a tonne and nickel jumped 1.8% to 109,850 yuan a tonne.
* COPPER: An unprecedented drop in lead demand from the auto battery sector due to COVID-19 has led to massive surpluses flowing into exchange warehouses, a surge analysts say is only the tip of the iceberg.
* ALUMINIUM: China’s primary aluminium imports in June rose more than 570% from a month earlier, customs data showed on Sunday, as traders sought cheaper metals abroad.