Copper prices stable

Reuters

Melbourne

London copper was on track for a third weekly decline on Friday, undermined by a firmer dollar as better US economic data boosted bets of a June rate hike, but the metal gleaned some support from signs of improvement in China´s housing sector.

The U.S. economy could be strong enough to warrant an interest rate increase in June or July, New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said on Thursday, cementing Wall Street´s view that the Fed will tighten policy soon. 

A stronger dollar flattens commodity demand because, priced in dollars.

The dollar eased back from seven-week highs against a basket of currencies on profit-taking.  Copper has dropped 9 percent so far in May, erasing a 4-percent rise in April, for its deepest monthly drop in half a year.

Copper got a bit ahead of itself in April and I don´t think the longs have been washed out just yet, we´ve also seen profit-taking across other markets," said analyst Daniel Hynes of ANZ in Sydney.