Copper prices, on Friday, July 28, drifted with little movement in currency markets, a key driver over recent sessions.
“We’re seeing a flat dollar and that’s likely to keep things light,” said a commodities trader in Perth, Australia.
Copper hit a two-year high earlier this week at $6,400 a tonne as the dollar tracked lower, making dollar-denominated metals cheaper for investors using other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was 0.2 percent lower at $6,319 a tonne by 0710 GMT after trading flat in the previous session.
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed down 0.42 percent at 49,940 yuan ($7,402.58)a tonne.
Cutbacks by Chinese authorities of illegal capacity at aluminium smelters, which have lifted prices this year, are slowing and may be reversed,
Activity in China’s factory sector is expected to have grown again in July, with only a slight slowdown from June’s three-month high suggesting momentum in the economy remains strong despite a tighter policy environment. The PMI data is due on July 31 at 0100 GMT.
Chilean state copper commission Cochilco forecast average global copper prices of $2.64 per pound in 2017, a slight upward revision from $2.60 previously, due to greater demand in China, a key market.
