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London - Copper advanced from its lowest close in about a month as metals gained after speculation that the Federal Reserve will be slow to raise interest rates weakened the US dollar, boosting demand for commodities as an alternative investment.
The US currency slid against all of its G-10 peers, dragging the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index down for a second day. Odds of the Fed raising interest rates in 2016 remain below 50% amid evidence of faltering growth elsewhere.
“Speculation the Fed may hold with the interest-rate hikes has brought the heat down for the dollar index today and hence we are experiencing these gains,” Naeem Aslam, a London-based chief market analyst at Think Markets UK, said by email.
Copper for delivery in three months added 0.9% to $4 824 a metric ton by 11:37 on the London Metal Exchange after sliding Tuesday to close at its lowest level since July 11.
Investors are awaiting economic data this week from the US and China for more clues on global demand. The US publishes jobless claims figures on Thursday, while data from China this Friday include fixed-asset investment and industrial output for July.
In other industrial metals:
Lead gained the most on Wednesday, climbing more than 1.3%. Zinc rose 1% and reached the highest since May 2015. Stockpiles in warehouses tracked by the LME climbed 6.9% to 459 075 tons, the highest in five months, on deliveries in New Orleans. Aluminum also gained, while nickel slipped from its highest close in more than a year.
