LONDON: Copper prices edged up on Thursday after strong results from AI giant Nvidia, but a strong dollar and concern over demand in top metals consumer China weighed on the market.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.3% to $10,784 a metric ton by 1525 GMT, extending modest gains made in the previous session.
LME copper has gained 22% this year but has retreated from its record peak of $11,200 on October 29.
Nvidia surprised Wall Street after markets closed on Wednesday by reporting accelerating growth after several quarters of slowing sales.
“I expect that there’s going to be weakness in the broader economy, but as long as tech is healthy and the infrastructure build-out from tech remains robust, that’s going to be good for the base metal markets,” said WisdomTree commodities strategist Nitesh Shah.
Many analysts expect copper to benefit from the wiring needed for the rising number of AI data centres.
The gains, however, were dampened by a firm dollar after minutes released by the U.S. Federal Reserve made a December cut to U.S. interest rates seem less likely.
A stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the U.S. currency more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Also weighing on the market are concerns about weak copper demand in China.
“Copper consumption in China has largely disappointed, with run rates at fabricators at multi-year lows for the season,” Neil Welsh, head of metals at Britannia Global Markets, said in a note.
The most traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed daytime trading 0.1% up at 86,080 yuan ($12,099) per metric ton.
China imported 279,944 tons of copper cathodes in October, down 22.1% year on year and 15.7% on a monthly basis, customs data showed on Thursday.
LME zinc was the strongest performer, gaining 1.4% to $3,023 a ton. China’s zinc exports surged in October as domestic smelters turned to overseas markets after a sharp fall in LME inventories.
Aluminium rose 0.7% to $2,820.50 a ton and tin climbed 0.5% to $37,140 while nickel shed 1.1% to $14,490 and lead dipped 0.1% to
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