By JUDITH NAMUTOWE –
THE prices of copper on the international market rose up on Friday to post its largest weekly rise for the year, boosted by hopes of a pickup in demand after the Chinese New Year.
According to Reuters, metals were little affected by Friday’s data showing that the United States (US) employers hired far fewer workers than expected in January, causing concerns that economic growth was losing momentum.
The three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME), however, went up by 0.15 per cent at $7,141 a tonne.
The metal used in power and construction gained one point per cent last week but was still down nearly three per cent for the year.
LME cash prices climbed on Thursday to $50.00 above the benchmark three-month contract, up from a premium of around $15 at the start of January.
Markets in China, the world’s largest copper consumer, reopened on Friday following the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.
And the local currency closed unchanged against the dollar on Thursday in fairly matched trading.