Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Friday August 3, supported by a slight uptick in the yuan and a dip in the dollar index.
Over this week, the re-emergence of trade tensions between the United States and China was the driver of a broad downtrend in metals prices, despite broadly positive fundamentals across the complex. In particular, zinc's three-month price enjoyed the sharpest climb, pushing back above $2,600 per tonne, while nickel increased 1.6% after falling to an intraday low of $13,080, its lowest point since April 6. Dollar strength, as well as broad weakness in the yuan and Asian stock markets, added further weight to...