March 31 (Reuters) – Copper prices were on track for their second straight quarterly gain on Friday, lifted by an improvement in demand from top consumer China after the country removed its stringent COVID-19 restrictions.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was up 0.2% at $9,015 a tonne, as of 0221 GMT, and has gained 7.7% so far this quarter.
The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 eased 0.3% to 69,490 yuan ($10,139.20) a tonne, but climbed 5.2% so far this quarter.
China’s removal of its COVID-19 restrictions last December raised hopes that demand for copper will improve as the country revived its economic activities.
Copper prices shot up early-January, but delays in demand improvement put a lid on a rally until March when consumption returned with the peak season and boosted LME copper prices by about $1,000 in just two weeks to around $9,000 a tonne.
A weaker dollar in the second half of March made greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies.
Nickel trading, on the other hand, has been dampened by fraud and LME trading limit and review.
Nickel fell the most across base metals in the first three months of 2023, with the LME three-month contract CMNI3 down 22.8% so far this year, and the most-traded SHFE contract SNIcv1 shedding 20.1% in the same period.
So far this quarter, LME aluminium CMAL3 edged up 0.6%, and zinc CMZN3 dipped 1% in the same period, while lead CMPB3 lost 6.9% and tin CMSN3 rose 5%.
SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 edged higher 0.2% so far this quarter, zinc SZNcv1 lost 3.9% during the same period, lead SPBcv1 fell 4.3% and tin SSNcv1 dipped 0.4% in the quarter.
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($1 = 6.8536 yuan)
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
((mai.nguyen@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: mai.nguyen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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