(Adds lead smelter suspension, official prices)<\/p>\n
LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) – Copper prices recouped losses on Wednesday after China\u2019s announcement of a second sale of state reserves with an amount that was less then expected, but a firmer dollar still weighed on the market.<\/p>\n
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slipped 0.4% to $9,303 a tonne in official trading after earlier falling to a low of $9,260.50.<\/p>\n
Copper has eased from a record peak of $10,747.50 in May, but is still up 20% so far this year.<\/p>\n
China will sell 30,000 tonnes of copper and other base metals on July 29 as Beijing aims to rein in skyrocketing commodity prices, a government body said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were rumours in the market that there would be a high number, but the announcement was lower than expectations,\u201d said Wenyu Yao, senior commodities strategist at ING Bank.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quite a mixed picture this morning and copper has really been macro driven recently,\u201d she added, referring to fears about rising COVID-19 cases and higher inflation.<\/p>\n
* German lead producer Berzelius Stolberg has stopped production at its plant in Stolberg in western Germany after floods hit the area last week.<\/p>\n
LME lead was little changed at $2,327 a tonne.<\/p>\n
* The premium of LME cash lead over the three-month contract <\/span>CMPB0-3<\/span> hit a near three-week high of $13.25 a tonne, indicating tightening nearby supply. LME inventories <\/span>MPBSTX-TOTAL<\/span> fell to a one-year low of 64,425 tonnes.<\/span><\/p>\n * The dollar index rose to its highest since early April, making metals priced in the U.S. currency more expensive to holders of other currencies.<\/p>\n