Copper edges higher on US rate cut hopes and Chinese demand

Copper prices crept higher for a third consecutive session on Friday, bolstered by hopes of U.S. interest rate cuts after a central bank appointment and upbeat economic data in China.

Benchmark three-month LME copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.2% to $9,700 a metric ton in official open-outcry trading, extending a rebound after touching its lowest in three weeks on July 31.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced his pick to fill a vacant seat at the Federal Reserve, boosting hopes of interest rate cuts and weakening the dollar.

A softer dollar makes commodities priced in the U.S. currency less expensive for buyers using other currencies.

"The weaker dollar has been a key driver in August," said Dan Smith at Commodity Market Analytics.

"You've got dollar weakness and China looking like it's in good shape. So the fundamental side feels like it's quite positive for the time being."

Data released on Thursday showed China's exports beat forecasts in July as manufacturers made the most of a fragile tariff truce between Beijing and Washington to ship goods.

The most traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.1% to 78,490 yuan ($10,929) a ton.

Smith said LME copper was looking potentially bullish in his algorithmic computer models, which seek to replicate fund activity that places buy and sell orders largely on momentum signals.

"I think there's a chance that next week it will flip back into giving a buy-signal on copper, with an upside potentially up towards $10,000," he said.

U.S. Comex copper futures added 0.7% to $4.43 a lb by 1215 GMT, bringing the premium of Comex over LME copper to $62 a ton.

On the supply side, investors were watching developments in top copper producer Chile, where Codelco has sought permission to reopen a part of its flagship mine after a fatal accident last week.

Other metals were mixed. LME aluminium was flat at official activity to $2,610 a ton and zinc was little changed at $2,812.50 while tin added 0.2% to $33,800, nickel eased 0.3% to $15,075 and lead was down 0.6% at $1,998.