LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - Aluminium prices slipped on
Wednesday under pressure from a stronger dollar and completed
production cuts in China's major producing provinces.
Benchmark aluminium on the London Metal Exchange
(LME) was down 0.6% at $2,335.0 a tonne in official rings.
The stronger dollar added to pressure on metals
priced in the currency by making them more expensive for buyers
holding other currencies.
Aluminium has been "driven by a combination of strong dollar
moves and an improved supply view from China after Yunnan
smelters were said to have satisfied the necessary output cuts
to comply with power rationing requirements," said Daria
Efanova, research associate at Sucden Financial.
"With the market entering a traditionally high output
season, we will start paying close attention to operating rates
in the region in the coming weeks," she added.
Prices for other industrial metals were mixed after hawkish
comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and
expectations of healthy demand from top consumer China.
Powell on Tuesday said the U.S. central bank is likely to
increase interest rates more than anticipated to tame inflation.
LME three-month copper rose by 0.7% to $8,824 a
tonne, zinc added 0.6% to $2,971, lead was flat
at $2,088, while tin fell 2.4% to $23,600 and nickel
lost 2.1% to $23,650.
"The lower prices bring buy-in opportunity, while we are
still holding a cautiously optimistic view of China's demand," a
Shanghai-based futures trader said.
The most traded April copper contract on the Shanghai
Futures Exchange ended the day 1% lower at 68,880 yuan
($9,888.17) a tonne.
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(Reporting by Polina Devitt; additional reporting by Siyi Liu
and Dominique Patton; editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jason
Neely)