METALS-Base metals start 2025 on a mixed note as dollar wobbles

Update prices

By Violet Li and Mei Mei Chu

SHANGHAI, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Most base metals were mixed on Thursday, the first trading day of 2025, buoyed by a wobbling U.S. dollar, which made it cheaper for holders of other currencies to buy greenback-priced commodities.

The U.S. dollar, after a strong year of gains against most currencies, wobbled at the start of 2025 trade on Thursday, trading at 108.31, down 0.23% from the previous trading day.

Rising U.S. Treasury yields have been a boost for the dollar recently, with the key 10-year note US10YT=RR hitting a more than seven-month high last week.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.7% at $8,825 per metric ton, as of 0715 GMT.

The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1 slid 0.7% to 73,280 yuan ($10,039.32) a ton by the end of Asia afternoon trade.

"On the macroeconomic side, the U.S. Federal Reserve has maintained high interest rates, and the U.S. dollar index remain at high ground, both of which have capped gains in copper prices," a trader said.

Markets in both London and Shanghai were closed on Wednesday for a holiday.

LME aluminium CMAl3 edged up 0.8% at $2,571.5 a ton, nickel CMNI3 was relatively unchanged at $15,325, zinc CMZN3 gained 1.2% to $3,014.5, tin CMSN3 fell 0.6% to $28,905, while lead CMPB3 was 0.5% higher at $1,962.5.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 gained 0.8% to 19,945 yuan a ton, nickel SNIcv1 fell 0.6% to 123,820 yuan, zinc SZNcv1 fell 0.2% to 25,265 yuan, lead SPBcv1 gained 0.4% to 16,825 yuan, and tin SSNcv1 edged down 0.5% at 244,640 yuan.

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($1 = 7.2993 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Violet Li and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

((Violet.Li@thomsonreuters.com;))

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