Copper prices rose on Wednesday supported by a tentative ceasefire between Iran and Israel, which improved the overall market sentiment, and a stronger yuan currency in top metals consumer China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.3% at $9,696.50 a metric ton by 1034 GMT.
The ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to be holding on Wednesday a day after both countries signalled that their air war had ended, at least for now.
China’s yuan edged higher against the U.S. dollar, nearing its strongest level in a month. A stronger yuan makes dollar-priced metals more attractive for Chinese buyers.
Providing further support, data by the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) showed that the global refined copper market was in a 50,000 tons deficit in April, compared with a 12,000 metric tons surplus in March.
For the first four months of the year, the market was in a 233,000 tons surplus, broadly unchanged from the same period a year earlier, it added.
In other LME metals, lead rose 1.4% to $2,047.50 a ton after hitting a three-month high of $2,049. China’s lead smelters have raised their offerings for used electric bike batteries, in preparation for better lead demand in summer months, and this helps primary lead prices too, a Shanghai-based metals analyst said.
LME aluminium fell 0.5% to $2,566.50 as the Iran-Israel ceasefire removed the immediate threat to the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane for Middle East aluminium producers.
Zinc rose 0.8% to $2,703, tin gained 0.6% to $32,420 and nickel climbed 0.6% to $15,005.
(Reporting by Polina Devitt, additional reporting by Hongmei Li; Editing by Shailesh Kuber Editing by)
