(Reuters) – London copper prices hit a more than two-month low on Monday, as a stronger dollar made greenback-priced metals more expensive to holders of other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 1.1% to $7,352 a tonne, its lowest since July 22 and down 32% since it hit a record high in March of $10,845 a tonne.
The U.S. dollar hit a new two-decade peak, supported by a steep fall in the British pound and a hawkish outlook by the Federal Reserve.
With higher interest rates in sight, the global economic growth also looked shaky, threatening demand for industrial metals and pressuring prices.
LME aluminium hit an 18-month low of $2,151 a tonne, zinc eased 0.4% to $2,995.50 a tonne by 0326 GMT while tin rose 1.5% to $20,540 a tonne.
The most-traded October copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 2.7% to 60,840 yuan ($8,500.17) a tonne.
ShFE nickel dropped 3.1% to 188,620 yuan a tonne, tin fell 3.1% to 178,510 yuan a tonne, aluminium declined 1.9% to 18,380 yuan a tonne and zinc was down 2.2% to 24,430 yuan a tonne.
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[TOP/MTL] or [MET/L] DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0800 Germany Ifo Business Climate New Sep
0800 Germany Ifo Curr Conditions New Sep
0800 Germany Ifo Expectations New Sep
0535 Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda to deliver
speech, meet business leaders in Osaka
1300 Introductory statement by ECB President Christine
Lagarde at the hearing before the Committee on
Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European
Parliament in Brussels
($1 = 7.1575 yuan)
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
