Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Wednesday December 19, reflecting a continued retreat in the dollar index
The three-month copper price climbed 0.7%, ending back above $6,000 per tonne. In a quiet trading day, 16,200 lots of copper changed hands. In supply-side news, judges earlier this week ordered the reopening of Sterlite Copper's Tuticorin copper smelter in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu after its closure in May, which could bring as much as 400,000 tonnes of copper back to the market. Aluminium closed higher although its recent trend has been lower; more than 220,000 tonnes have been delivered mostly into listed Asian warehouses over the past week. Elsewhere, zinc consolidated higher above $2,500...