BEIJING- Prices of most base metals in London eased on Wednesday after China’s inflation in July hit a two-year high, while investors were braced for continued hawkishness from the Federal Reserve ahead of the highly anticipated US inflation data.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange lost 0.8 percent to $7,920.50 a ton.
China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.7 percent year on year in July, the fastest pace since July 2020 and higher than the 2.5 percent gain in June, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.
The factory-gate inflation, however, eased to its weakest since February 2021, as raw material prices fell due to already slower construction activity.
The producer price index (PPI) rose 4.2 percent year-on-year, after a 6.1 percent uptick in June.
The US Consumer Price Index (CPI), due at 1230 GMT, is expected to show that prices rose at an 8.7 percent annual pace during July, according to the median estimate of economists polled by Reuters, which would be a small downward correction from June’s whopping 9.1 percent. – Reuters
