Chile: USD deepens decline below $950 after copper surpasses $4 per pound.

Futures of the metal on Comex rose 2.2% to their highest levels both of the current session and since late July. It’s Chile’s main export.

The price of the dollar sharply declined below the $950 mark on Wednesday in Chile, amidst a significant strengthening of copper following news that Chinese smelters are considering reducing capacity.

Meanwhile, market participants continue to digest the inflation data for February in the United States released in the previous session.

The parity dropped by $15 to $946.05 at midday, according to quotes, while Comex copper futures rose 2.57% to $4.03 per pound, marking its highest price of the session and since late July 2023.

The industrial metals reached highs for the year, with copper supported by supply issues and Chinese smelters discussing cutting production to boost processing expenses.

Major Chinese smelters committed in a meeting on Wednesday in Beijing to study measures to cope with a decline in processing fees, which has led to fierce competition. However, no decisions or formal commitments were made at the meeting, and any concrete measures will be announced later, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg.

China is beginning to show some signs of recovery. With the aim of achieving 5% growth by the end of 2024, the Chinese government has begun to implement a series of measures agreed upon in the country’s recent parliamentary meeting.

The dollar slightly weakened against a basket of global currencies, while US market interest rates rose again, extending yesterday’s gains following the February CPI data in the US, which overall was somewhat stronger than expected. However, the local exchange rate fell to one-month lows, reflecting the moderation in market expectations regarding the Central Bank’s interest rate cut path.