Most London industrial metals prices advanced on Wednesday amid reports of progress in trade negotiations between the United States and top metals consumer China.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Tuesday it was a good sign that top U.S. officials would be travelling to China to discuss reviving stalled trade talks, and said he expected Beijing to start buying U.S. agriculture products soon.
The trade war between the world’s two biggest economies has weighed on global economic growth and dimmed the demand outlook for industrial metals. A sign of progress in resolving the dispute often supports base metal prices.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose as much as 0.7% to $6,007 a tonne and stood at $6,006, as of 0805 GMT. Aluminium was up 0.6% and nickel added 1%, while zinc gained 0.7% and lead rose 1.5%.
“The trade talks nowadays are becoming more of a long grinding battle,” said Jeff Ng, Continuum Economics’ chief economist for Asia. “The focus is slightly shifting away from all the trade rhetoric. Going forward, China’s (economic growth) slowdown will likely play a bigger part,” he added.
FUNDAMENTALS
* SHANGHAI PRICES: The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended down 0.5% on 47,090 yuan ($6,844.87) a tonne, while aluminium edged down 0.1%, nickel fell 0.8%, and zinc rose 0.4%.
* TIN: Tin was the laggard in London, slipping as much a 1% to a fresh three-year low of $17,500 a tonne, and is down 9.3% so far this year, making it the worst performer among LME base metals. Shanghai tin tumbled to a three-week low of 130,760 yuan a tonne in early trade before closing down 0.9% on 133,730 yuan
* CHINA RATES: China’s central bank governor Yi Gang said the country’s current interest rate level is appropriate, the financial magazine Caixin reported on Tuesday.
* NORSK HYDRO: Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro has managed to ramp up operations at its Alunorte refinery in Brazil despite a cyber attack in March, the firm said on Tuesday, boosting its shares.
