LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Copper prices fell for a third day on Thursday, sitting beneath record highs as investors waited for U.S. jobs data on Friday that will offer clues on when monetary policy could tighten.
Expectations of higher interest rates could knock growth-related assets like metals and equities. World stocks hovered below all-time highs and the dollar inched higher.
China’s yuan meanwhile weakened for a fourth day from a three-year high against the dollar, making metals priced in the greenback costlier for buyers in the world’s largest consumer of commodities.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 1.2% at $10,022 a tonne at 1040 GMT.
Prices of the metal used in power and construction reached a record high of $10,747.50 in early May, with many analysts expecting strong demand to power further gains in the coming years.
“The dips seem to be well supported,” said independent analyst Robin Bhar. He said short-term price direction would likely be dictated by the U.S. employment data but “I think we’ll see new record highs as we head into the fourth quarter.”
ECONOMY: PMI surveys showed that China’s services sector expansion slowed in May, though factory activity grew at the fastest pace this year.
Euro zone business activity surged.
CHINA PREMIUMS: China's appetite for overseas metal is fading, with Yangshan copper import premiums falling to $28.50 a tonne, the lowest since at least 2012.
CHINA PREMIUMS: China's appetite for overseas metal is fading, with Yangshan copper import premiums falling to $28.50 a tonne, the lowest since at least 2012.
CITI: “Refined copper market tightness is on its way once consumer destocking runs its course,” analysts at Citi said in a note. “Our base case is that this becomes evident in the next few months and will be particularly bullish for tighter copper spreads.”
CHILE: Codelco’s copper production fell 0.5% year on year to 132,700 tonnes in April and BHP’s Escondida mine saw a 16.5% drop to 85,700 tonnes, the Chilean government said.
OTHER METALS: LME aluminium was down 1.3% at $2,411.50 a tonne, zinc fell 2.3% to $3,012, nickel slipped 0.6% to $18,130, lead gained 1.3% to $2,191.50 and tin was 1.9% higher at $30,255.
(Reporting by Peter Hobson Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen; editing by David Evans)
Source: Reuters