Melbourne : London metals fell on Thursday after U.S. policymakers backed the need for more rate rises, pushing up the dollar and putting pressure on metals as trading in Shanghai resumed after a week-long break.
London Metal Exchange copper fell 1.2 percent to $7,033 a tonne by 0120 GMT, having ended up 0.4 percent in the previous session. Support is seen at the 30-day moving average of $6,826 a tonne.
Shanghai Futures Exchange copper pared early gains of 1 percent to trade last at 52,800 yuan ($8,323) a tonne, still up half a percent. Shfe nickel also held a 1 percent gain but the rest of the metals were flat or lower.
The dollar rose to a more than one-week peak on Wednesday, extending its recovery from last week, helped by higher short-term Treasury yields, and as minutes of Federal Reserve´s January meeting showed policymakers confident in the need to keep raising interest rates.