Shanghai copper hits 1-mth low as U.S.-China dispute escalates

• China is the world's biggest copper user, accounting for about half of global copper demand.
• The most-traded November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell as much as 0.8pc to 46,520 yuan ($6,512.03) a tonne.

SINGAPORE: Shanghai copper fell to its lowest in over a month on Wednesday as an expanding trade dispute between the United States and China intensified concerns over demand.

The most-traded November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell as much as 0.8pc to 46,520 yuan ($6,512.03) a tonne, its lowest since Sept. 4, tracking overnight declines in the London market. It closed down 0.6pc.

The United States and China, the world's two biggest economies, are due to have their first minister-level talks in months on Thursday in a bid to end a 15-month long trade dispute that has hurt the global economy.

However, hopes of a resolution appeared low as Washington on Tuesday imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials for the detention or abuse of Muslim minorities, angering Beijing.

"It has become a little bit difficult for the negotiation to continue or to progress to a desired stage. The market had already expected this resolution to take a long time," said analyst Helen Lau of Argonaut Securities.

China is the world's biggest copper user, accounting for about half of global copper demand.

FUNDAMENTALS

PRICES: Shanghai lead fell 1.7pc and aluminium  dipped 0.4pc, while zinc eased 0.2pc and nickel  rose 0.1pc.

In London, copper was up 0.4pc at $5,698 a tonne by 0705 GMT, reversing from a 0.8pc loss in the previous session, while most other base metals fell.

CODELCO PREMIUM: Chile's Codelco, the world's biggest copper producer, has agreed with some Chinese customers to keep its physical copper premium for 2020 unchanged from this year at $88 a tonne, sources said.

COPPER: A service will launch next week that uses satellites to keep copper smelters under surveillance, to get quick word to fund managers, traders and miners of when they shut down and ramp up.

FED: Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday flagged openness to further rate cuts to fend off global economic risks, repeating that the central bank will act "as appropriate" in an economy that he said will likely expand.

SLOWDOWN: The global economy is experiencing a "synchronized slowdown", the new head of the International Monetary Fund said, which could worsen if governments fail to resolve trade conflicts and support growth.

CHINA: China's new bank loans likely rose in September but other key gauges of credit growth remained lacklustre, a Reuters poll showed, reinforcing expectations Beijing needs to deliver more support to stabilise the economy as trade pressures build.