Copper futures fell, affected by the dollar and rising inventories

According to foreign news on June 14, London Metal Exchange (LME) copper futures fell on Friday, and nickel prices hit their lowest point in more than two months, suppressed by the strong dollar and increased inventories.

At 17:00 London time on June 14 (00:00 Beijing time on June 15), LME three-month copper was quoted at US$9.741.5 per ton, down 0.54%.

LME base metal closing prices on June 14 (US dollars/ton)

In the metal market, risk appetite has weakened recently, but this is necessary because the previous trend was very strong and was not justified at the time," said Ole, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen. Hansen said.

Copper prices have retreated 12% after hitting a record high of $11,104.50 last month, driven by speculators and investment funds.

Hansen said buyers will be hesitant until they see a clear upside breakout above the psychological $10,000 level, which will be a difficult nut to crack.

A stronger dollar weighed on metals, making dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for buyers using other currencies. Copper stocks in LME-registered warehouses rose 28% over the past month to their highest level in four months. LME three-month nickel fell 0.4% to $17,575 a tonne, after falling to its lowest since April 4 at $17,400. It fell about 2.5% this week.

Shanghai Futures Exchange nickel stocks hovered near their highest since November 2020, while LME stocks climbed to 87,480 tonnes, their highest since February 2022.

CRU analyst Tong Tong said investors had also taken profits after nickel prices hit their highest since August 2023 in May, despite improved demand in the stainless steel industry and erosion of supply growth in Indonesia in the second quarter. The market will shift into surplus in the third quarter as supply from Indonesia grows, he said.