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Aluminium, copper under pressure from weak euro zone PMI

Saturday, 23 November 2024



LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters): Prices for copper and aluminium fell in London on Friday as data showing a tumble in euro zone business activity weakened the euro, and the dollar strengthened weighing on prices for industrial metals.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.5 per cent at $8,963 per metric ton by 1102 GMT.
The Eurozone's dominant services industry contracted and manufacturing sank deeper into recession this month, a survey showed on Friday. The euro plunged to a two-year low after the data, and the US dollar index hit a fresh two-year high.
Eight weeks of the US currency strengthening, which makes dollar-priced metals more expensive for buyers using other currencies, and concerns about demand in top metals consumer China helped copper to fall by 12 per cent from a four-month peak hit on Sept. 30.
Gold rose 1.4 per cent on Friday with signs of escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war after Russia's strike on Ukraine using a newly developed hypersonic ballistic missile.
LME aluminium fell 0.6 per cent to $2,615.50, zinc eased 0.4 per cent to $2,978, tin was down 0.1 per cent at $28,690, while lead rose 1 per cent to $2,018.50 and nickel added 0.7 per cent to $15,820.