Copper pulls back on frail China factory data

Copper prices retreated on Tuesday after factory data weakened in top metals consumer China and the dollar strengthened on the back of reduced expectations of US interest rate cuts, reports Reuters.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.9 per cent to $9,489 per metric ton in official open-outcry trading.
A robust rally in copper fuelled a near 20 per cent surge in LME prices during the two months up to Monday, when it touched $9,640.50 a ton, the highest since June 2022.
Data on Tuesday showed Chinese industrial output grew 4.5 per cent year-on-year in March, slowing from the 7.0 per cent pace seen in January-February and well below analysts' expectations of 6 per cent.
March retail sales were also softer than expected despite the overall economy growing faster than forecast in the first quarter.
"Today it's the economic outlook from China that seems to be troubling the market," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.
Some speculators were likely liquidating some bullish positions, he added.
"Any weakness in the short-term will leave the market exposed to long liquidation because some of these recently established longs will be quite trigger happy."
The dollar hit a five-month high after hotter-than-expected US retail sales figures raised more questions about when the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates.
"As funding costs are not going to come down at the rate that the market was looking for, it could dissuade some restocking people were counting on," Hansen said.