Trading in the base metals on the London Metal Exchange was subdued on Friday July 5 in the absence of many participants a day after the Independence Day holiday in the United States.
A stronger US dollar, up 0.19 against a basket of other major currencies at 96.90, also weighed on buying appetite. Although trading across the complex was largely rangebound, the LME three-month zinc price dipped by 2.1% from Thursday's close to $2,398.50 per tonne because of a looser cash/three-month spread, which was recently at a slim $9.50-per-tonne backwardation. The cash/three-month spread has been in a wide backwardation for...