Copper gains as soft dollar set to save 10 week streak

Copper prices edged up on Friday, set to end the week higher, supported by the U.S. dollar's overnight plunge which offset pressure from recedingsupply fears. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.06% at $14,342 a metric ton by 0300 GMT. That placed the metal on track to edge up 0.03% this week, which would mark a tenth straight weekly gain. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.58% to 109,170 yuan ($16,254.73) a ton. The dollar slumped overnight on fading rate hike expectations after comments by Fed Governor Christopher Waller. The CME's Fedwatch tool shows rate traders pricing in even odds of a September rate hike, from a nearlytwo-in-three chance a day earlier. A cheaper U.S. dollar can support greenback-denominated commodities by making them more affordable for buyers using other currencies, and lower rates can support industrial metals by stimulating economic activity. It was a choppy week for copper, weigheddownin trading earlier in the week by resurgent interest rate fears, and by market perceptions of less physical tightness of supply. LME copper's cash-to-three-month spread narrowed to $57.93 a ton of backwardation, from $171.40 a ton a week earlier. Elsewhere, aluminium edged up to near a three-week high on the LME on supply tightness and availability concerns. LME aluminium was up 0.2%, on track to end the week 2.16% higher. The cash-to-three month spread flipped into a slight backwardation on Thursday, signalling tight availability. The SHFE aluminium price added 0.25% after paring back earlier gains, which saw it touch 24,510 yuan a ton, its highest since June 4. Among LME metals, zinc was little changed, up only 0.01%, lead ticked 0.11% higher, nickel added 0.17% and tin dipped 0.27%. Among SHFE metals, zinc gained 0.54%, lead was little changed, down only 0.03%, nickel lost 0.57% and tin gained 0.67%. ($1 = 6.7162 Chinese yuan renminbi)