Il dollaro USA si indebolisce, causando un aumento dei prezzi del rame
In the world of global commodities, several significant developments have taken place this week.
The U.S. economy is set to revise its job growth data for March, which has sparked a wave of anticipation among analysts, with Dan Smith at Commodity Market Analytics noting that there is a lot of focus on the U.S. economy. This could potentially lead to even deeper Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, as the revisions could indicate a jobs market in worse shape than initially thought.
Meanwhile, in the commodities market, copper prices have seen a boost. The incident at a major mine in Indonesia provided support for copper prices, with the temporary halt of mining at Indonesia's Grasberg, one of the world's largest copper mines, by its operator PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.1% to $9,924 per metric ton. China's export-import data also shows strong demand for copper, adding to the positive sentiment.
However, the stronger yuan in China, which rose to a 10-month high against the U.S. currency, has made dollar-priced metals more attractive for Chinese buyers, providing a counterbalance to the copper price rise.
Elsewhere in the commodities market, the dollar is close to a seven-week low, which could be a factor in the overall activity in copper prices being muted ahead of the U.S. data revisions. The dollar's weakness has also contributed to LME aluminium inventories in LME-registered warehouses falling to a two-month low. LME aluminium remains steady at $2,616.50 a ton, while LME lead CMPB3 has lost 0.3%.
In other notable news, Anglo American has agreed a merger with Canada's Teck Resources, the biggest mining sector M&A deal in over a decade. The two companies operate adjacent copper mines in Chile, which could potentially impact the copper market in the future.
On the downside, LME nickel has dipped 0.2%, LME zinc has fallen 0.8%, and LME tin has slid 0.4%.
The blockage at Grasberg has restricted evacuation routes for seven workers, adding a human dimension to the economic implications of the mine's temporary shutdown.
As we await the U.S. job data revisions, these developments underscore the dynamic and interconnected nature of global commodities markets.
