Copper prices fell on Friday as the dollar strengthened ahead of next week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, at which the U.S. central bank is expected to raise interest rates for the first time this year. A stronger greenback makes metals more expensive for holders of other currencies and can weigh on prices.
FUNDAMENTALS
* LME COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.1 percent at $6,914 a tonne by 0210 GMT, extending a 1 percent loss in the previous session. It is on course for a 0.7 percent weekly drop.
* SHFE COPPER: The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down 0.8 percent to 51,960 yuan ($8,206) a tonne but on track for a weekly gain of 0.8 percent. * NICKEL: Shanghai nickel was the biggest loser in early trade, slipping 1 percent to 103,060 yuan a tonne but still up 2.2 percent for the week.
* COPPER: The Democratic Republic of Congo is considering adding copper to its list of strategic minerals in a move that would extract higher fees from mining companies, an adviser to the prime minister said on Thursday.
* ALUMINIUM: The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Thursday it had made a final finding that imports of aluminium foil from China hurt U.S. producers, a move that locks in place hefty duties of up to 188 percent on Chinese exporters.
* ALUMINA: Norsk Hydro Asa sees securing alternative sources of alumina to replace reduced supplies at its Brazilian plant as a priority, Chief Executive Svein Richard Brandtzaeg told Reuters.
* TARIFFS: U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom have agreed to meet next week in an attempt to resolve a deepening dispute over trade tariffs, a European Commission source said on Thursday.
reuters.com