Copper prices edged slightly higher this morning with LME 3-mo. copper recently trading around $5,780 per metric ton while COMEX copper was holding around $2.60 per pound in New York.
Other base metal prices were mixed this morning as the dollar edged up ahead of the release of the minutes from the last FOMC and ECB meetings and speech by Fed Chair Jay Powell in Jackson Hole, Wyo. later in the week. In London, LME 3-mo. nickel and tin prices were pressured below $15,900/mt and $16,500/mt, respectively while the other base metals were treading water. In New York, NYMEX crude oil futures rose as high as $56 per barrel with Reuters reporting “Crude oil prices rose on Monday following a weekend attack on a Saudi oil facility by Yemen’s Houthi forces and as traders looked for signs of progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations.” On Wall Street, the Dow Industrials started the week in positive territory following gains at the major bourses in Europe and Asia, including the Shanghai stock index, while advanced 2.1 percent for the day. In foreign exchange trading, the euro was buying $1.1094 while the British pound slipped to $1.213 this morning.
