Copper dips below £6,000 mark on the LME

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After a strong mid-week for copper, it dropped back to below £6,000 at the end of trading on the LME yesterday.

The metal was at $9,670 (£5,997) at the end of trading yesterday down from the $9,685 (£6,067) seen on Wednesday.

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Copper dropped slightly on the LME as the market took in US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke saying that “additional policy support” might be needed to spark the US economy further. This led to a rally on the LME on Wednesday where copper reached $9,789 in trading, but fell back once traders realised that this suggested weaker underlying prospects for the American economy.

A slightly strengthening dollar on the pound also added to the fall in the sterling price on the LME of copper. Despite trading at a lower dollar price of $9,519 on Tuesday, the stronger pound at that point in the week saw a sterling price of £6,009.

Although aluminium increased on the LME to $2,505 yesterday at close from $2,480 on Wednesday, the change in exchange rate meant it was flat at £1,553.

Lead closed yesterday at $2,697 (£1,672) compared to $2,751 (£1,723) on Wednesday. Nickel was up in dollar terms, but down in sterling at $23,865 (£14,800) yesterday and $23,730 (£14,865) the day before.

Tin closed at $27,490 (£17,049) from $26,610 (£16,699) on Wednesday. Zinc was $2,374 (£1,472) on Thursday’s close, compared to $2,378 (£1,490) 24 hours earlier.

Steel changed a little from $580 (£359) on Thursday and closed at $584 (£365) on Wednesday.