COPPER edged up yesterday supported by a strike threat at the Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia and news of lower output from Chile, but gains were reined in by weak economic data that fanned fears of a global economic slowdown.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) edged up 0.2 per cent to US$9,180.25 a tonne after rising 0.9 per cent in the previous session. It is on track for a monthly fall of 6.4 per cent, its largest since May 2010.
The most-active November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures closed 0.2 per cent higher after rising 0.9 per cent in the previous session.
For oil, prices hovered around $89 a barrel yesterday in Asia after a report showed US crude supplies unexpectedly jumped last week, a sign that demand may be weakening.
Benchmark oil for October delivery was up 14 cents to $89.04 while crude rose $1.63 to settle at $ 88.90. In London, Brent crude for October delivery was up 27 cents at $114.29.
In gold, spot gold edged lower yesterday as investors waited for more clues to economic conditions and watched to see if the US Federal Reserve would deploy more stimulus measures. But the metal is poised for its biggest monthly gain since November 2009.
Cash gold prices rallied 2.6 per cent in the previous session going at $1,833 per ounce as Fed policy showed the central bank discussed a range of unusual tools it could use to help the economy and more quantitative easing remains an option.
On the local money market, the Kwacha was flat as dollar demand kept the local currency from gaining against the greenback opening trading at K4,960 and K4,980 for bid and offer, unchanged from the previous close.
The local unit met with some resistance at this level as the low price attracted dollar buying which pushed the unit back to opening levels where it eventually closed the day unchanged for the second day in a row.
Liquidity in the market has continued to decline from K439.7 billion to K429.4 billion while the volume of funds traded increased to K169.6 billion, up by K600 million.
