Copper Rebounds With Industrial Metals After Yuan Erases Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Base metals prices won a reprieve from their recent collapse after the dollar sank against the yuan late in Friday’s Asian session.

Copper in London rebounded as much as 0.8 percent from the lowest level in a year as the yuan wiped out a steep retreat amid speculation Chinese authorities were seeking to cool its decline. Zinc and nickel rose by more than 1 percent, while copper in Shanghai erased losses to end only slightly lower.

Metals have sold-off over the past six weeks on concerns that an escalating trade conflict between China and the U.S. could hurt the global economy and dent demand for raw materials. This has seen the dollar surge, particularly against the yuan. Earlier Friday, China’s central bank had weakened its daily reference rate for the currency by the most in two years, making imports more pricey for the top consumer of raw materials.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ranjeetha Pakiam in Singapore at rpakiam@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jason Rogers at jrogers73@bloomberg.net, Keith Gosman

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.