May 1 (Reuters) –Most base metals fell in thin holiday trade on Wednesday, as a firmer dollar made greenback-priced commodities more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 fell 0.9% to $9,901.50 per metric ton by 0334 GMT, and aluminium CMAL3 eased 0.3% to $2,584 a ton.
LME lead CMPB3 slid 0.3% to $2,209.50, nickel CMNI3 shed 0.3% to $19,175, while tin CMSN3 rose 0.2% to $31,270 a ton.
Several Asian markets, including top metals consumer China, were closed for the Labour Day holiday.
The U.S. dollar was stronger ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision where the central bank is expected to keep its interest rates unchanged amid sticky inflation.
Lower interest rates could mean a softer dollar and faster economic growth, both of which are supportive to metals prices.
Expectations of interest rate cuts have changed drastically after the U.S. economy posted robust performance, Sucden Financial analyst Daria Efanova said in a note.
“Coupled with rising geopolitical tensions and the impending election season, concerns about persistent inflation grew across major economies,” she added.
LME zinc CMZN3 dropped 1.4% to $2,885.50 on easing supply worries as Nyrstar’s Budel smelter will resume production during the week of May 13, partly because of higher refined zinc prices which have climbed by nearly a third since mid-February.
For the top stories in metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or MET/L
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0600 UK Nationwide house price MM, YY April
0830 UK S&P Global Manufacturing PMI April
1345 US S&P Global Mfg PMI Final April
1400 US ISM Manufacturing PMI April
1800 US Federal Open Market Committee announces its
decision on interest rates followed by statement
Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets: LME price overview RING= COMEX copper futures 0#HG: All metals news MTL All commodities news C
Foreign exchange rates FX=SPEED GUIDES LME/INDEX
