Copper prices dip amid trade tensions

BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes COPPER prices declined on Tuesday as mounting Sino-United States tensions sparked fresh worries of economic retaliation. This was between the world’s two biggest economies, though the correction could be short-lived given the upbeat demand in top consumer China.  Three-month copper prices on the London Metal Exchange fell 1.8 percent to US$6,450.50 a tonne, says Absa Bank Zambia. “The contract retreated from a two-year high hit in the previous session, lifted by worries of supply risks from leading producer Chile,” Absa said in its daily market report. The previous trading day, London copper scaled a 24-month high, on supply worries from top producer Chile due to a potential strike at a mine.  On that day, three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 3.3 percent to US$6,622.50 a tonne, a level unseen since July 3, 2018. Still on metals, oil prices fell more than two percent on Tuesday on worries that new clampdowns on businesses to stem surging United States coronavirus cases could threaten fuel demand recovery. Expectations that Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) might ease output cuts from August in an upcoming meeting.  Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 88 cents, or 2.06 percent to US$41.84. Meanwhile, the foreign exchange market opened the week on a relatively quiet note.  The local unit traded at 18.05/18.10 on the bid and offer respectively throughout yesterday’s trading session as demand and supply were almost evenly matched.  The market expects activity to pick up and the direction of the local unit would be determined by which players have the larger deals as demand and supply still remained the driving force behind the currency’s movement. The Sun