Copper on track to close week near 9-month high

Copper futures rose in American trade as the dollar index lost ground, ahead of the preliminary reading for the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey, and Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan's speech later today. 

As of 02:44 GMT, copper futures due on December 15 rose 0.78% to $295.85 a pound from the opening of $293.40, while the dollar index shed 0.21% to 93.42 from the opening of 93.62. 

Now markets await the UoM consumer sentiment survey for August, expected to rise to 94.0 from 93.4 in July, while Kaplan will speak at the Dallas County Community College, with investors looking for anew clues about the future of monetary policy. 

Earlier this week, the Fed released the minutes of the July 25-26 meeting, at which policymakers voted to maintain interest rates at between 1.0% and 1.25%, and asserting the normalizing plans of the bank's massive $4.5 trillion balance sheet despite recent concerns about softening inflation.