Copper turns lower as oil retreats, dollar strengthens; other base metals mixed

LONDON — Copper closed lower on Tuesday, extending four straight days of losses as oil prices retreated from the previous session’s more than two-year high and the dollar strengthened.

“Base metals prices this morning were supported by the sharp rise in oil prices. Now oil is down, and the dollar is somewhat firmer, so this seems to be weighing on prices,” Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann said.

“Last week was the third week in a row that speculative financial investors withdrew from copper,” he added.

“It seems the base metals are losing support from one of the most important factors of the last few months, those speculators.”

London Metal Exchange ( LME) copper ended the day down 0.60% at $6,411 a ton. Prices touched their lowest since midAugust on Friday at $6,366 a ton.

Brent crude prices fell on Tuesday after investors took profit after the previous session’s rally to 26-month highs, spurred largely by threats from Turkey to cut oil exports from Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

World stocks and the euro fell for a fourth day, with investors that had piled into both all year taking a step back as the list of global uncertainties began to lengthen again.

This year looks set to be the “tipping point” for electric cars, global miner BHP’s chief commercial officer said on Tuesday, with the impact for metals producers felt first in copper, where supply will struggle to match increased demand.

OTHER INDUSTRIAL METALS

LME zinc closed up 0.60% at $3,116 a ton, while lead ended 0.50% higher at $2,488 a ton.

Zinc stocks in LME-registered warehouses fell a further 1,600 tons on Monday, exchange data showed, and are down 39% this year.

Another 20,350 tons of zinc warrants were canceled, meaning metal had been earmarked for delivery and was no longer available to the wider market.

The premium of cash zinc to the three- month contract rose to its highest since early 2007 at $ 69, reflecting tight supplies of immediately available metal.

The Asian Development Bank raised its outlook for China’s economic growth this year on the back of strong domestic consumption, an export recovery and solid growth in services.

LME tin closed little changed at $20,710, while nickel finished down 0.90% at $10,480 and aluminum ended 1% lower at $2,126. —