COPPER PRICE LOSES SIGNIFICANT GROUND

BUSINESS REPORTER writes

COPPER price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) has lost significant ground since its recent peak above $6,600 per tonne in mid-April, according to Barclays Bank Zambia market update.

The -month copper price was recently at $6,265 per tonne on May 3, up 1.4% on the day and up from $5,970 per tonne at the start of the year.
On gold, the bank reported that there was little change on Monday as the dollar gained after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese goods, escalating Sino-U.S. trade tensions and prompting investors to sell riskier assets.

Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $1,277.66 per ounce, as of 1324 GMT. U.S. gold futures were down 0.1 percent to $1,279.80 an ounce.
The bank reported that oil prices fell on May 6 after US President Trump said he would sharply raise tariffs on Chinese goods this week, risking the derailment of trade talks between the world’s two biggest economies.

Brent crude futures were broadly steady at $70.88 per barrel, having earlier hit its lowest since April 2 at $68.79.
On the local front, the bank reported that the Kwacha was firm against the dollar on Monday underpinned by sagging demand from importers and low local currency liquidity in the money markets.

Closing the day unmoved from its previous day’s close of K12.850/12.900 per dollar, the Kwacha traded flat in both the morning and afternoon sessions.
Barclays said the Kwacha was likely to continue trading steady against the dollar in the next few sessions due to an anticipated fall in corporate appetite for the greenback.

On Money Market, the bank reported that market liquidity marginally deceased to K783.59 million from K839.52 million on Monday with the volumes of funds traded on the interbank also dropping to K335.00 million from K505.00 million.

The cost of funds traded on the interbank was little changed at 9.91%.
The market was relatively unchanged on Monday as we continued to witness low activity.