Copper prices fell on Thursday as the dollar firmed after minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s meeting signaled that the central bank may raise interest rates sooner than expected.
While a firmer US dollar makes greenback-priced metals more expensive to holders of other currencies, an interest rate hike could trim liquidity in financial markets and slow recovery in the world’s biggest economy.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.5 percent at $9,648.5 a ton. The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped 0.7 percent to 69,730 yuan ($10,944.05) a ton. – Reuters
