Copper price rises on weaker dollar

Copper for delivery in March rose 0.3% on the Comex market in New York, touching $3.81 per pound or $8,382 per tonne.

The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange added 0.8% to 66,010 yuan a tonne as of 0614 GMT.

The dollar slid against most currencies on Friday as data signaled that the US economy is cooling a bit, reinforcing expectations of smaller interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve and improving investors’ risk appetite.

Raising hopes of policy support, a top advisor to the People’s Bank of China on Saturday called for the strengthening of real estate policy in light of sluggish economic growth over the past several years.

Amid a new wave of infections, however, China’s National Health Commission said it would stop publishing daily case numbers for the coronavirus, complicating investors’ task to assess the economic impact.