The softening of the US dollar helps boost commodity prices: LME copper prices break through the $13,000 mark, Indonesian production cuts drive nickel prices up for the fifth consecutive day.

Notice that, despite a decrease in Chinese buyers before the Spring Festival holiday, the copper price continues to rise due to tight supply prospects and a weaker dollar. With expectations of increased demand driven by global manufacturing demand, green transformation, and artificial intelligence development, investors continue to have a positive outlook on copper prices. At the same time, mining supply is limited due to a decrease in ore grade. Speculative funds, including Chinese funds, have helped drive the recent months' uptrend. The weakening of the dollar has made commodities priced in other currencies cheaper, providing support for the uptrend. Wu Kunjin, head of non-ferrous metal research at Minmetals Futures Co., Ltd, stated that although Chinese buyers have slowed down their purchases before the holiday next week, overseas risk appetite still exists. Research data from Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings shows that the trading volume of refined copper in China dropped to 13,400 tons on Wednesday, lower than the peak of over 38,000 tons on February 2. Open interest and trading volume on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have dropped to the lowest levels since November last year. As of the time of writing, copper prices on the London Metal Exchange have risen by 0.5% to $13,166.50 per ton. Nickel prices have risen by 0.6% for the fifth consecutive trading day, driven by production cuts in Indonesia, the world's largest nickel mine. Iron ore prices in Singapore have risen by 0.3% to $100.25 per ton.