BEIJING- London copper prices declined on Wednesday, hurt by a firm dollar and looming concerns about the US economy and demand from top consumer China, while the Shanghai contract rose.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange shed 0.5 percent to $8,886 per metric ton, reversing gains in the previous session and falling to a more than four-and-half month low.
However, the most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 0.8 percent to 71,720 yuan ($9,987.47) a ton, as most metals in Shanghai were catching up the gains in London in the previous session.
The dollar index recovered ground and was last at 103.20, making greenback-priced metals like copper more expensive.
The dollar will claw back some of its recent losses over the coming three months on expectations financial markets have again gone too far in pricing in too many Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year, a Reuters poll of foreign exchange strategists found.
Copper experienced large sell-offs amid as risk asset investors left the market after last week’s data by the US sparked fears of recession.
The sell-off was compounded by weak demand in top consumer China. The country is due to release its July trade data later in the day.
