BEIJING- Prices of copper and most other base metals traded higher on Thursday, supported by a softer US dollar and expectations of further stimulus to help revive demand from top consumer China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.2 percent at $9,239 per metric ton, while the most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.8 percent to 74,900 yuan ($10,355.89) a ton.
The dollar index turned soft after the US Federal Reserve opened the door for an interest rate cut in September.
A weaker dollar makes the greenback-priced commodity cheaper for overseas buyers.
There are some positive signs of narrowing export parity and retreating inventories, which supported prices, ANZ analysts said in a note.
More exports from China ramped up global inventories, which weighed down on copper prices.
Investors were also hoping for more support policy from China after a private sector survey showed on Thursday that the country’s manufacturing activity in July shrank for the first time in nine months.
The reading came in line with an official PMI survey on Wednesday showing manufacturing activity slipped to a five-month low.
