Copper price falls on hawkish rate hikes, strong dollar

The copper price fell on Friday after three weeks of gains as concerns over global economic growth after interest rate hikes offset support from declining stocks at the London Metal Exchange (LME).

Copper for delivery in July was down 2.21% on the Comex market in New York, touching $3.80 per pound ($8,360 per tonne). 

Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices.

“Copper trades lower in sympathy with the rest of the growth-dependent commodities following a week that delivered surprisingly hawkish rate hikes while (U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome) Powell said the FOMC is not done yet either,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.

Making dollar-priced commodities less attractive to holders of other currencies, the dollar rose as the risk of higher rates triggering an economic downturn pushed some investors to seek safe-haven assets –including the US currency.

Copper stocks in the LME-registered warehouses continued to decline, the exchange’s daily data showed on Friday, with headline inventory falling to a one-month low of 79,300 tonnes after 1,100 metric tons of outflows.

Declining stocks have heightened market concern about the availability of copper.

(With files from Reuters)