By Brijesh Patel July 4 (Reuters) - Copper prices slipped on Monday to hover near a 17-month low as renewed lockdowns in top consumer China and the prospect of aggressive rate hikes stoked fears of global economic slowdown, denting demand for metals. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.3% at $8,027.50 a tonne, as of 0404 GMT. Copper, used in power and construction sectors and is considered a gauge of economic health, fell to its lowest since early-February 2021 at $7,955 on Friday. The most-traded August copper contract in Shanghai fell 2.1% to 61,250 yuan ($9,153.68) a tonne by the midday break. "Softening demand and concerns over a growth slowdown are dragging on the sector. We think improving Chinese economic activity will stabilise prices," ANZ analysts said in a note. "Inventories for metals are shrinking to multi-year lows. Supply challenges due to higher energy prices and other operational issues will allow little room for inventories build."From the United States to the euro zone, activity at factories slowed to levels last seen during the initial wave of the pandemic. Adding to demand worries, cities in eastern China tightened COVID-19 curbs on Sunday as coronavirus clusters emerge, posing a new threat to the country's economic recovery under the government's strict zero-COVID policy. INFLATION: Euro zone inflation hit a record high in June as price pressures broadened, and its peak could still be months away, firming the case for rapid European Central Bank rate hikes starting this month. FED: The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to deliver another 75-basis-point rate hike this month to combat soaring inflation. DOLLAR: The dollar hovered close to recent two-decade highs against its rivals, making greenback-denominated metals more expensive for other currency holders. OTHER METALS: LME aluminium gained 1% to $2,468 a tonne, zinc was up 1.2% at $3,066.50, and lead rose 0.2% to $1,939. Shanghai aluminium added 0.6%, zinc slipped 1.3%, nickel fell 1.6%, lead gained 0.3%, and tin lost 1.5%. ($1 = 6.6913 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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Stocks mentioned in the article
Price
|
Change
|
5d. change
|
Capi.
| ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.083 USD | +0.08% | +0.88% | - | ||
1.282 USD | +0.08% | +1.39% | - | ||
0.6741 USD | -0.07% | +1.29% | - | ||
0.012 USD | +0.06% | 0.00% | - | ||
0.7335 USD | +0.06% | +0.78% | - | ||
0.6133 USD | -0.11% | +1.15% | - | ||
697.9 PTS | -0.27% | +2.89% | - | ||
333.5 PTS | +0.29% | +0.77% | - | ||
230.6 PTS | -1.64% | +0.84% | - | ||
4.214 % | -0.017 | -3.882 | - | ||
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