Copper hits 9-month low amid trade tensions

LONDON: Copper fell to a fresh nine-month low on Wednesday ahead of the implementation of trade tariffs on goods from China and the United States which could dampen demand for the industrial metal.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange slipped 0.6 percent to $6,450 per tonne in official rings, its weakest since September 2017.

"(U.S. President Donald) Trump is not fostering global trade," said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.

"There is scrutiny about the export side of the market in terms of copper-containing household goods or electronics being shipped out of China and we believe that will stay with us at least until U.S. mid-term elections in November."

Washington has said it would implement tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports on July 6, and Beijing has vowed to retaliate in kind on the same day.

TRADE: China's threatened tariffs on $34 billion of U.S. goods will take effect from the beginning of July 6, a person with knowledge of the plan told Reuters, amid worsening trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.

EUROPEAN UNION: China is putting pressure on the European Union to issue a strong joint statement against President Donald Trump's trade policies at a summit later this month but is facing resistance, European officials said.

FREEPORT: Indonesia has extended a temporary operating permit for Freeport McMoRan Inc's Grasberg project, the world's second-biggest copper mine, until the end of the month while discussions continue over long-term rights.

CODELCO: Workers at Codelco's Chuquicamata copper mine in Chile, the state miner's second largest by output, threatened last week to strike over plans to transform the century-old open pit into an underground mine.

CHINA DATA: Growth in China's services sector accelerated in June to a four-month high, buoyed by a pickup in new businesses and a sustained increase in employment, a private survey showed.

ZINC, NICKEL: Zinc dropped 1.6 percent to $2,744 a tonne, having touched its lowest since July 2017, and nickel  was bid down 1.5 percent to $14,195 a tonne.

WARRANTS: Traders are also watching a large holding, between 40 and 59 percent, of zinc warrants on the LME. It has fuelled worries about a shortage on the LME market and led to a premium for the cash contract over the three-month.

GLENCORE: U.S. authorities have demanded Glencore hand over documents about its business in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela and Nigeria as part of a corruption probe, sending the mining company's shares down more than 8 percent.

PRICES: Aluminium was bid down 0.9 percnet to $2,098 per tonne, lead was bid down 0.7 percent to $2,374 and tin added 0.4 percent to $19,725.