METALS-London copper flat as tight inventories offset dollar strength

Copper prices in London flitted in a tight range on Thursday, as concerns of potential shortages resulting from lower inventories partially offset a firmer U.S. dollar.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 he;d its ground at $7,425 a tonne, as of 0138 GMT, while the most-traded November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 rose 1.3% to 60,970 yuan ($8,472.64) a tonne.

China's bonded warehouse copper inventories SMM-CUR-BON were at their lowest on record of 81,800 tonnes. ShFE copper stocks were down 78% since March, while COMEX copper inventories HG-STX-COMEX dropped to their lowest since July 2021.

However, there have been some deliveries into LME copper warehouses MCUSTX-TOTAL.

The dollar =USD edged higher and head back in the direction of Wednesday's 20-year high, making the greenback-priced metal more expensive for overseas buyers.

The overall outlook for metals demand globally remained grim, as central banks around the world tightened their monetary policy to curb rising inflation.

LME zinc CMZN3 rose 1.9% to $2,907 a tonne, tin CMSN3 advanced 1.5% to $21,030 a tonne and aluminum CMAL3 increased 0.7% to $2,138 a tonne.

ShFE lead SPBcv1 was up 1.2% at 15,035 yuan a tonne, tin SSNcv1 advanced 1.3% to 181,440 yuan a tonne, aluminium SAFcv1 edged up 0.3% to 18,020 yuan a tonne and zinc SZNcv1 rose 0.8% to 23,805 yuan a tonne.