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Copper extended gains to a one-week high on Monday, supported by a weaker dollar and hopes that the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in top consumer China would revive demand for the metals.
Nickel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange jumped more than 6% to a three-week high.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.6% at $9,515 a tonne by 0142 GMT, after hitting its highest since May 23 at $9,549 in early Asian trade.
* The most-traded July copper contract in Shanghai rose 0.4% to 72,050 yuan ($10,785.93) a tonne.
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* Shanghai nickel jumped 6.2% to 210,000 yuan a tonne, its highest since May 6.
* The dollar nursed last week’s losses on Monday and was headed for its first monthly drop in five months, as investors have scaled back bets that rising U.S. rates will spur further gains and as fears of a global recession have receded a little.
* A weaker greenback makes metals priced in dollars cheaper for holders of other currencies.
* Shanghai said on Sunday “unreasonable” curbs on businesses will be removed from June 1, as it looks to lift its COVID-19 lockdown, while Beijing reopened parts of its public transport as well as some malls and other venues as infections stabilized.
* Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 23.7% from last Friday, the exchange said on Friday.
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MARKETS NEWS
* Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher on Monday, while the dollar was pinned near five-week lows as investors wagered on an eventual slowdown in U.S. monetary tightening, albeit after sharp hikes in June and July.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0900 EU Consumer Confidence Final May
1200 Germany CPI Prelim YY May
1200 Germany HICP Prelim YY May
PRICES
Three month LME copper
Most active ShFE copper
Three month LME aluminum
Most active ShFE aluminum
Three month LME zinc
Most active ShFE zinc
Three month LME lead
Most active ShFE lead
Three month LME nickel
Most active ShFE nickel
Three month LME tin
Most active ShFE tin
($1 = 6.6800 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
