Copper prices drop

COPPER prices hit a seven-week low on Tuesday as buying interest faded ahead of the Chinese New Year and as a stronger dollar weighed in.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) ended down by 0.14 per cent at $7,140 a tonne, having earlier hit its lowest since December 10 2013 at $7,135 a tonne, and bringing losses for the year near three per cent.

On local scene the Kwacha traded on the back foot against the greenback on Tuesday as sustained dollar demand from interbank players saw the local unit lose 1.5 ngwee on the day, Zanaco bank has said.

“The Kwacha opened interbank trading at K5.54/K5.55 on the bid and offer respectively and traded around this level through the morning session,” states a newsletter for Zanaco yesterday.

With thin dollar inflows hitting the market, the local unit slipped against the dollar later in day to close trading at- K5.55 /K5.56.

The Kwacha is expected to trade on bearish note as the likelihood of significant dollar flows into the market remains slim in the near-term.

Trading range for the local unit is expected to be between K5.520 and K5.600 on the interbank.

Source