Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME), on Thursday, hovered around the five-month lows hit in the previous session, as trade dispute between the United States and China showed few signs of abating.
The U.S. Defense Department is seeking new federal funds to bolster domestic production of rare earth minerals and reduce dependence on China as media reports said Beijing was standing ready to use rare earths to strike back at Washington.
In a fight against U.S. sanctions that threaten to push it out of global markets, China’s telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd has filed a legal motion seeking to declare a U.S. defence law unconstitutional.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the LME edged up 0.1% to $5,886.50 a tonne by 0212 GMT, while the most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.9% to 46,590 yuan ($6,738.50) a tonne.
* Three unions of Chilean state-run miner Codelco’s giant Chuquicamata mine rejected the company’s final offer for a new contract on Wednesday and approved a strike, according to a union leader.
* The global zinc market saw a deficit of 44,500 tonnes in March, compared with a surplus of 27,600 tonnes in February, latest data from the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) showed.
* Zinc prices rose 0.5% in London and was almost unchanged in Shanghai. London aluminium increased 0.1%, lead fell 0.5% and tin advanced 0.4%.
