Copper rises on falling dollar amid global economic optimism
Copper prices rose on Thursday, as the US dollar fell against most majors amid optimism about the global economy.
The International Monetary Fund raised its projections for the global GDP to grow by 6% in 2021.
Countries around the world are ramping up their efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic with largescale vaccination campaigns and tight lockdown measures.
The IMF also estimated the US economy to grow to 6.4% in 2021 based on the Federal Reserve's forecasts.
The dollar index slipped against a basket of currencies by 0.3% to 92.1 points as of 13:32 GMT, after it hit a high of 92.4 points and a low of 92.1 points.
Copper May futures rose 0.6% to $4.07 per pound as of 13:30 GMT, after hitting a high of $4.09 and a low of $4.04
US stocks rise in early trading, shrug off weak data
Most of the US stock indices opened higher on Thursday, amid optimism about the US economic recovery despite the release of disappointing data.
Data showed that the US unemployment claims rose to 744K during the past week, worse than forecasts of 684K.
The International Monetary Fund raised its projections for the global GDP to grow by 6% in 2021.
The IMF also estimated the US economy to grow to 6.4% in 2021 based on the Federal Reserve's forecasts.
As for stocks, Dow Jones fell 0.2% or 64 points to 33,381 as of 13:58 GMT, Nasdaq rose 0.9% or 124 points to 13,813, and S&P 500 rose 0.2% or 9 points to 4,089.
US unemployment claims worse than expected
At 12:30 GMT, the US economy released its reading of the unemployment claims for the week ending April 2 at 744K, worse than forecasts of 682K, and worse than the previous reading of 719K after it was revised from 728K. This data is negative for the US economy.
Oil rises for the third straight day
Oil prices continued to rise as the US market opened on Thursday, extending gains for the third straight day, after data showed a drop in the US crude inventories, in addition to hopes about strong global demand after the International Monetary Fund raise its forecasts for the global growth at the highest pace since the 1970s.
US crude rose 0.5% to $59.80 a barrel, after opening at $59.48, and hit a low at $59.08, and Brent crude rose 0.5% to $63.32 a barrel, after opening at $63.01, and hit a low of $62.54.
US crude gained 0.6% yesterday, and Brent crude futures rose 0.4%, after the EIA weekly report.
The Energy Information Administration reported today that the US crude inventories fell 3.5 million barrels to 498.3 million barrels during the week ending April 2, while analysts forecasts a drop by 2 million barrels.
The US production fell 200K barrels last week, with a total at 10.9 million barrels per day.
The International Monetary Fund revealed its projections for the global GDP, which is expected to grow by 6% at the best rate since the 1970s, from the previous forecast of 5.5%, thanks to the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.