Copper futures settled higher on Thursday as a weak US dollar makes copper cheaper for holders of other currencies. Meanwhile, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he was open to lower interest rates sooner than he had anticipated, depending on how quickly inflation falls, but that the baseline was for interest rate cuts to start in the third quarter. However, sluggish economic recovery in the world’s top metals consumer China, limited further gains in copper prices.
Copper futures for March delivery gained $0.0120 to settle at $3.7450 a pound on the Comex metals division of New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper on the London Metal Exchange was up by 0.51 percent at $8,310 a ton.