BEIJING, Feb 5 (Reuters) -
Base metals trended down on Monday as pressure from a strong U.S. dollar and subdued demand outlook outweighed supply risks.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange lost 0.1% to $8,476 per metric ton by 0542 GMT, having shed 0.7% in the previous week.
The dollar index hit an
eight-week high against its major peers on Monday, weighing down metals as it made purchases more expensive for non-dollar buyers.
The strength came with fading expectations of aggressive rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year after the U.S. central bank's remark and strong data showing its economic resilience last week.
Spot trade in top consumer China slowed down recently as market participants gradually started the Lunar New Year holiday, which will officially kick off on Saturday.
That translated into rising inventories. SHFE on-warrant
copper stocks
The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slid 0.3% to 68,600 yuan ($9,532.54) per ton.
Base metals are in for a subdued 2024 with weak demand damping any bullish supply pressures, the latest Reuters poll of analysts showed.
However, the copper market was underpinned by raw material supply disruption.
Treatment charges for smelters to process copper concentrate fell further to $22.08 last Friday, a multi-year low, an index by the Shanghai Metals Market showed.
LME zinc shed 0.3% to $2,443.50 a ton, lead dropped 0.8% to $2,128, tin declined 0.7% to $25,360, aluminium dipped 0.2% to $2,230, and nickel lost 0.3% to $16,190.
SHFE aluminium declined 0.5% to 18,800 yuan a ton, nickel fell 1% to 125,400 yuan, zinc dropped 0.7% to 20,630 yuan, tin was down 1.8% to 211,340 yuan and lead dipped 0.2% at 16,180 yuan.
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($1 = 7.1964 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Siyi Liu and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Sohini Goswami)